


adieux

by adieuxemo



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Bottom Harry Potter, Discord: Tomarrymort, F/F, F/M, Gay Sex, Good Lucius Malfoy, M/M, Male Slash, Master of Death Harry Potter, Multi, Possessive Tom Riddle, Slash, Time Travelling Harry Potter, Top Tom Riddle, Yaoi, Young Tom Riddle
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-18
Updated: 2019-05-18
Packaged: 2020-03-07 10:54:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 14
Words: 23,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18871765
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/adieuxemo/pseuds/adieuxemo
Summary: Realising that there is nothing he can do in this time to save the Wizarding world, Lucius Malfoy sends Harry Potter back in time. Year 1937 to be exact, where Harry has no memories of his past life. Now in the past, a young Harry Potter befriends the younger sociopathic Tom Riddle at Wool's Orphanage.





	1. To The Past

**LUCIUS'S POV**

* * *

 

I am sure Harry Potter will come for Dobby any second now, the boy obviously had a hate love relationship with my house elf. Seconds later I hear footsteps running towards me, I smirk to myself. Once he's in sight I grab out my wand and silently cast two spells that'll change everything. Stupefy and obliviate. He can prevent all this from happening, all he needs to do is change Tom's choice of path. Give him someone that understands him and stands my his side out of love, not admiration.

I then plant the memories I've been working on since Draco mentioned him. His mother went to Beauxbatons and her name was Rosina, she was originally from Italy, but moved to France at age five. His mother had red hair, pale skin and emerald green eyes like Lily Potter. His father went to Durmstrang and originally came from Scotland. His father was named Sean Moreau and looked also looked like James Potter, but he had neat curly hair. They were killed by Grindelwald early in the war. They were both pureblood orphans after their parents died when they were in their teens. As most pureblood children are, Harry was raised in a abusive family as his parents were also raised that way. He loved Quidditch and his family was quite wealthy because of their blood status, but Harry was well-mannered, sweet, and intelligent, how else would he stop the dark lord from being insane if he himself was insane? I was hoping I didn't screw that part up. He knew everything about the wizarding world as he was raised in it.

After I supplied all those memories and filled in some memory gaps, I changed his appearance a bit. I injured him using sectumsempra with as little intent as possible, silently praising the ground Severus walks on, I can't have him dying. I then carefully began performing the spell that would hopefully send him back to year 1937, five days before Dumbledore visited the orphanage. Harry disappeared with a flash in front of my eyes, I spotted the black book with the whole in the middle. I opened it to only have a sock fall out, I looked at Dobby who was shaking uncontrollably and handed it to him.

I left with the book before he could comprehend what had happened.

**TOM'S POV**

* * *

 

I decided to go out onto the streets of London, it was better than that place. It was quite lonely here at the orphanage, not many people liked me that much. Mainly because I scared them away and all my previous roommates, but that was because they did something to me first. I only fight back if they're a threat after all.

As I was walking down the dark sidewalk only illuminated by the nighttime sky, I tripped over something. I groaned slightly as I landed on whatever I tripped on, I felt breath against my neck. I looked down and saw a kid around my age barely breathing in a puddle of his own crimson red blood.

I picked him up gently as possible and surprisingly he was very light, practically like a feather to my pleasure and concern. I raced to the orphanage as fast as possible without injuring him even more. Madam Langie opened the door and her eyes widened, there was slight suspicion in her eyes as she looked at me. It vanished as soon as it appeared. "He was attacked wasn't he?" She asked and I nodded slowly.

Once we laid him on the couch she rushed to get the nurse. At that moment the boy started to stir. His eyes flickered open and emerald green met crystal blue.


	2. Scarily Similar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The two boys are quite alike they learn, scarily alike at that.

**TOM'S POV**

* * *

 

His eyes shocked me a little, they were a deep green. Emerald green in my opinion, I had never seen eyes like that. "Hello, darling. Can you tell us your name?" Langie asked him sweetly as she placed her hand on his shoulder to comfort him. "Could you also maybe tell us what happened?" She asked him. His eyes filled with tears and he looked at his hands as he nodded and began to fiddle with his small hands.

"My name is Harry Sean Moreau, Harry is short for Hadrian. My parents are Rosina and Sean Moreau, my mom is from Italy and my dad is from France." He begins as he continues to stare at his hands while speaking. "My parents were sending me to bed when suddenly there was a bang on our door. M-my dad opened the door and they killed him instantly. T-then they killed my mom as I hid upstairs from them." He tells Langie as tears finally begin to spill, as the shock fades away.

"Do you have any living relatives left, dear?" Langie asked him and he shook his head no. "Any family friends?" She asked him and it was also no. "We'll let you stay here for now, I'll go look for a room with one person." She says as she begins to stand up.

"H-he can be my roommate." I say suddenly, I silently curse as she looks at me suspiciously. "I don't have a roommate and it would be nice to have one." I say as I notice the weird look she gives me. Harry looks at her hopefully and she nods with a sigh.

"Thank you," he said looking at me and her as he gave me a small teary smile, despite the trauma he had just gone through. I returned it with a 'you're welcome' shyly. The boy pulled out a old key that was on his neck. "My parents left me some stuff. Would you mind if sometime I went into London to grab a few things?" He asks Langie hesitantly, his eyes staring downward.

"Of course, can Tom go with you? I don't like having kids go alone into the city." She says and I withhold a snort, what was I just doing with your permission? This lady really wants him to think highly of her, he hopefully won't fall for it or he'll come to realize how much of a jerk she is over time. The boy looked slightly worried as he bit his lip anxiously.

"Y-yeah, s-sure but can you show me to my room first?" He asked her in a small voice and she nodded. I followed both of them upstairs silently. There was another bed already in my room like every other room. He sat down on the unoccupied bed hesitantly. I sat down on my bed and pulled out a book, not in the mood for engaging in any social interactions.

"What will you be buying in London?" Langie asks Harry as he settles down, wincing from the wounds on his body. He seems hesitant to answer the question, I note mentally.

"I'm going to buy the basics, Like books, clothes, shoes and maybe a few other things." He tells her and continues to fiddle with his fingers as he waits for her to leave. The second she leaves the room has a tension filled aura, but I turn to him.

"You should stay clear from me, nobody likes me here and if you hang out with me they won't like you either. They'll either be afraid of you too or you'll be afraid of me," I tell him quietly, it's for the best really. He's obviously gone through a lot, he doesn't need to suffer anymore then he already has.

He rolls his eyes slightly causing me to look at him in confusion. "I don't care what others think Tom," he says, his name rolling off of his tongue as if a foreign word. He had a slight smile on his face. "You should be terrified of me, but maybe they can be terrified of both of us," He told me as he continue to fiddle with his fingers but his green eyes looked into mine.

"I don't believe we have the same problem here, I do certain things that shouldn't be possible. If the church or nun's heard of what I can do, they would lock me up," I tell him cautiously, my eyes staring into his beautiful green ones.

He doesn't say anything, he just puts his hand out for me to take and I hesitantly place my hand into his smaller hand. He mutters something under his breath with half closed eyes, suddenly I feel a rush go through my body. He pulls back and smiles as he looks into my eyes. "Can you do things like this?" He asks me as he shows me my eyes using a mirror.

I looked at him wide eyed as he continued to smile at me. I look back into my mirror, crimson red eyes stared back at me. "This is nearly exactly what I can do, where did you learn to do this?" I ask him curiously, tilting my head slightly.

"My mum was a pure-blood witch and my dad was a pure-blood wizard, I was pretty much raised around magic and my parents wanted me to be the best, so they hired me a tutor." He tells me and I slowly nod. "I'll try to explain things a bit better, there is a magical world full of millions of wizards and witches. It maybe be a bit hard to believe, but I can always show you tomorrow. I believe you are one, could you maybe show me what you can do?" He asks of me and I nod my head as I bite my lip anxiously.

I pick up my book from my bed and start speaking like I would to my pet snake Sylas, instantly the book was set aflame and I grinned, turning to Harry. His green eyes almost glowed as he looked at the flames, but he quickly put it out, with a mutter of a few words. "You can speak parseltongue too?" He asks me and I furrow my eyebrows in confusion. "The language of snakes is called Parseltongue, can you communicate with them?" He asks me with a hopeful look on his almost innocent face.

"Can you understand me?" I ask him in parseltongue, he grins and plops down onto my bed next to me.

"Of course I can." He says happily. "Now we have our own language, no one else in the wizarding world is known to speak parseltongue. Parselmouth's are usually descendants from Salazar Slytherin, one of the founder's of the biggest magical school called Hogwarts, I'm related to Rowena Ravenclaw though, another founder." He explains to me and I smile slightly as I take in the information.

"You aren't as bad the others," I blurt out and blush slightly, I've never had any positive emotions towards anyone, but this one was different, I almost felt as if he was a part of me, we both shared the same magic coursing through our veins. He smiles slightly with a tint of pink on his pale cheeks.

"You aren't that bad ypurself," he says shyly as he lays down onto his bed, most likely feeling the exhaustion already. "Goodnight," he says as he gets under the covers.

"Goodnight, Harry."


	3. The Wizarding Bank

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry takes Tom to Gringotts, the only Wizarding bank in Britain.

**HARRY'S POV**

* * *

 

I slowly open my eyes as I feel a slight headache coming on, I sit up quickly as I don't recognize my surroundings, but I quickly calm when I remember where I am, I'm safer now that they're gone. I look at the slowly rising sun out of the barred window, the sky of London still managed to look beautiful despite the threaten of war, people just waiting for the final announcement. A small smile graces my lips as I sit on the window sill, leaning against the stone wall as I stare at the beautiful city polluted by all of the toxic people in the world. I look at Tom, who's still sleeping, oblivious to the ugly world, even if it's just as he sleeps.

The wizarding world isn't much better, polluted by the muggles ruining our traditions and the people like Grindelwald that don't want to make the world a better place, they just want to use it so they can have the power over everyone. Someone needs to take over, with good intentions in their heart. It doesn't matter if their actions aren't the best, as long as they're coming from the right place. 

Tom moves slightly as the sun begins to filter in the room, landing on his face. I chuckle lightly as he groans lowly, stretching out his arms and legs causing his shirt to ride up, revealing his stomach. He had a few bruises causing me to frown, I'll have to buy him bruise ointment when he comes with me to Diagon Alley. I'll get him proper wizarding attire and some books to educate him on proper pure-blood etiquette.

His eyes flicker open, revealing his now crimson coloured eyes thanks to me. They suited his black curly hair and pale skin quite well, I'll have to get him red and black clothing attire to compliment his eyes. He smiles at me brightly through half-lidded eyes as he tries to shake off the sleepiness. "Come on sleepyhead, we need to go to Diagon Alley, a wizarding alley." I say and that causes him to get out of bed instantly.

He grabs a change of clothes and begins to undress causing me to look away. I didn't have a change of clothes yet, but they must've changed me into spare clothes after the incident yesterday. I lifted my shirt slightly to look at the wound on my stomach, but it was covered by bandages. I'll have to buy some medical supplies to quicken up the healing in Diagon Alley.

Tom was staring intently at my slightly revealed torso with a unknown emotion flickering in his crimson eyes. "Come here," he demanded and I obeyed instantly. I felt him begin to remove the bandage and watched with bated breath. I winced slightly at the anger in his eyes as he examined the slash. He gently placed his hand on the wound and I hissed slightly but he continued. I felt a surge of energy come from his hand and for a moment I couldn't breath, it was toxicating, a feeling I've never felt before. I felt a lump rise in my throat as the feeling got stronger, his red eyes nearly glowing.

He pulls his hand away and there's nothing there, not even a scratch. I look at him wide eyed, his magic is different than others, more powerful and dark in a way. I go to hug him but he flinch's slightly, causing me to back away. "Thank you," I say and he smiles as he puts on his shirt.

"You're welcome," he says as he continues to put on his shoes. He goes to grab his jacket, but the front of it is covered in blood. I grimace slightly at the amount of blood covered on the fabric.

"I will buy you a new one today," I say as he sighs slightly, putting on a jumper. He frowns at me causing me to roll my eyes at him. "I'm buying you some stuff and that's that, I'm very rich mind you. My father worked for the Ministry of Magic, he was the first person not from Hogwarts to work there." I tell him and he sighs again but doesn't protest. I don't bring up my mother, who was one of the best potion makers in the world, behind Horace Slughorn of course.

"Now come on, we have quite a long day ahead of us," I say with a grin, grabbing his hand gently as to not scare him. He gives a small shy smile back as we walk down the overly loud stairs. Madam Langie looked up from the chair she sat in, she set down her tea gently. "Be back please before curfew, Tom will explain it to you dear Harry." She says with a smile plastered on her face, yet her eyes told a whole different story.

"Okay ma'am," I say with a polite smile, bowing half way. She smiles and waves us off, we are instantly headed towards the front door of the gloomy building. As we walked to the centre of London, I could feel Tom's eyes on me the entire time, but I said nothing and we walked in silence. "I should warn you, the magical world isn't much better than your muggle one. We're currently at war with a rogue wizard named Grindelwald and his followers, but hey at least you guys aren't officially at war," I tell him as we near the Leaky Cauldron. "But don't worry, he and anyone with his mark can't enter Diagon Alley," I say to comfort him in a way.

He did seem a bit comforted, not that he looked really disturbed in the first place. I lead him towards the Leaky Cauldron causing him to notice it, most people would miss it and continue on with their day. "Welcome to the Leaky Cauldron," I say as I hold open the door for him, then following after him. "Hey Tom, can you open the entrance?" I ask the bartender, as I don't have a wand yet.

"Sure thing," he says with a wary face as Tom begins to scrutinize the much older Tom. He leads us to the back, Tom following along curiously as he tapped his wand on the bricks. Soon enough the passage way was opened and Diagon Alley was revealed, as busy as always. I thanked the elder Tom before grabbing the younger ones hand as we walked into the crowded street of the Alley. We pushed our way through the large amount of people as I dragged him to Gringotts, the biggest wizarding bank in the United Kingdom.

The marble building came into sight and I giggled slightly as Tom's jaw was ajar much to my amusement. We entered the building, about a hundred goblins in just this room at work, all at desks. I led him to one of the desks where a goblin sat, clearing my throat to get its attention. "I need to see Nurluk as soon as possible," I say and the goblin yells for another goblin named Nadkit, who is instantly besides me. "I'm Hadrian Moreau, I need to discuss some financial buisness with my family bank acountant, Nurluk," I tell Nadkit who nods, signaling for us to follow him. He leads us to a dark hallway with many dark oak doors all shut with a number engraved into the wood.

We arrive at door 47 and Nadkit knocks causing the door to open, revealing the familiar goblin by the name of Nurluk who was busy writing away at his desk. "A Mister Hadrian Moreau is here with a friend, Nurluk," Nadkit tells Nurluk and leaves us standing in the door way of his office.

"Come in," Nurluk says, his deep voice echoing into the dark and cold hallway. "I have been notified of your parents death, my deepest condolonces," he says with a piercing look. "All assets have been left to you as you're the last remaining Moreau in the entire world, but I am assuming you are not here for that?" He says as he notices my impatient look.

"I need my family check book for today, I don't fancy carrying around a bag full of galleons along with the items I purchase,' I say and he nods, pulling out a knife and the black check book with my family crest on it. I give Tom a sly grin as I cut open my hand and let the blood drop onto the notebook. It glowed a bright red signaling I was of Moreau blood and grabbed it. "I'll see you soon Mister Moreau," Nurluk says as we begin leaving.

"I'm sure we will, may your enemies blood flow before you." I bow slightly and grab Tom's arm, signaling that we should go. We exit the bank as he looks at me curiously, causing me to smile. "Let's have some fun as you explain these rules to me!" I say cheerfully causing him to raise an eyebrow at me. I smiled in response as I led the way, into the busy alley full of Wizards and Witches.


	4. Officially in Debt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry (Hadrian), begins buying too much stuff for Tom's liking.

**TOM'S POV**

* * *

 

Hadrian led the way through the busy alley, full of many different people and odd stores. I tried to take everything in as quick as possible, but enough so I could remember everything in all its beauty. The magical world was far more beautiful than the mundane world of non-magical people. I kept close to him as people walked without watching where they were going. "We'll be going to Twilfitt & Tatting's, it is a much better robe shop than Madam Malkin's," He tells me as he leads we towards a more upscale looking clothing store. 

We entered the store and a lady in a tight fitting black dress and dark make-up greeted us. "What can I do for you boys?" She asked in a polite yet stern voice, which I approved of. More women needed to be straight to the point and not deal with anyone's attitude or dwaddle around. "We will both be needing full new wardrobes, upscale and middle-class muggle and wizarding attire." She raised an eyebrow and gave a tight smile, but her eyes gave away her greed and excitement. I glared slightly at him, I don't like being in debt to someone in anyway.

"Follow me boys, we'll need your measurements." We followed her into a back room where multiple stools and small platforms were, with measuring tapes on a table. I went stiff as a lady touched me slightly as she measured me and wrote it down on a piece of paper. "Done, what're your names?" She asks us and Hadrian is the one who tells her. "Let's look at designs and clothes you want," she says and hands us magazines.

"I already know what we'll be buying. Tom will need clothes in cobalt blue, black, crimson, white, gray, and dark green. He will need a black cloak with a snake fastening in silver on all of them for different seasons. Black, white, red, gray, and blue button up shirts made of silk preferably also. He will also need several black, white, and gray vests with silver buttons. He will need black, gray, and white trousers along with twenty black pants (underwear for y'all Americans). I will also be having the same as him, for robes I want white, black, crimson, dark green, violet, and gray. All of this best be made of your finest materials. We will also both needs to pairs of each of the following in black: dress boots, dress shoes, sneakers, and dragon hide boots." I had to force my jaw to stay shut as he spoke to her, that was quite a lot in my opinion.

"Your things will be done in two-three hours so I suggest you finish your shopping," she says slightly in shock as she writes all of it down on her notepad. "Come, Tom. We don't have time to spare," he says and gestures for me to follow him out of the shop. I follow him towards a shop called Flourish & Blotts that seemed a bit crowded compared to Twilfitt & Tatting's. As soon as we walked in I felt my chest burst with excitement, there was books everywhere.

"I will be getting you the basic Hogwarts curriculum for first year, pure-blood etiquette, wizarding politics, social classes, traditions, and a basic guide that includes everything you need to know. You should study them and practice wandless and non-verbal magic before you use a wand. Eventually, you'll be expected to learn Latin and any other language of your choice. I myself speak Latin and French," I felt slightly intimidated for once in my life as he placed books upon books in my arms, five being on the _basics_ of the Latin language.

He also picked out a few books on first year curriculum and the dark arts. He bought the books and placed them in a feather light back with a grin on his face. "This is my favourite part, we'll be getting our wands, but you won't use it until you can cast a spell without one. I've already seen you do it so I'm sure you'll be fine," he explains as we head towards a store called Ollivander's. I'm feeling things I've never felt before, a sense of belonging, excitement, and happiness. The feeling itself made me feel euphoric.

The shop was filled to the brim with small boxes that most likely contained wands. A bell rang as the door opened, signaling we were there. A young man in his early thirties appeared, he was wearing high quality robes with light brown hair tied back in a ponytail. His eyes were a startling light blue, ones of a husky in my opinion. "Hello boys, who's going first?" He asked with a grin. Hadrian gestured towards me much to my displeasure. "Wand arm?" He asks me and I hold out my left arm, I'm assuming he means my preferred arm.

"Not many wizards are left-handed, this'll be exciting!" He says happily and places a bunch of boxes on the counter. "These are the only wands suited for a left arm, they're only in the two digits," the prospect seemed to excite him even more. "Try this one, cedar wood 11 inches long with a unicorn hair. Nope, not that one. Try this- wait no that won't work." He was going so fast I could hardly keep up. Nearly half way through the pile his eyes lit up. "I have two wands that are ambidextrious, they also happen to be brother wands because they both come from the same Phoenix." His eyes were so bright, I thought they could blind someone with sensitive eyes.

He returned with two small black boxes. "Try this one, holly wood, 11 inches long with a phoenix feather core." As my hand touched I felt a light tug, but it didn't feel strong enough. "Close, it may be this one. Yew wood, 13½ inches and a phoenix feather core." As soon as my hand touched it something inside me snapped and latched onto it, causing it to glow brightly. "Oh my, that's definitely the one. You're going to be a powerful wizard young one, your mother had the potential to be one." I stiffened at the mention of her, I barely knew anything of her besides that her name was Merope Gaunt and she named me after my father and her father.

"Your turn," he said excitedly and Hadrian held out his right arm before Ollivander could tell him what to do. "There's something about you, what's your name?" Ollivander asks him as he finishes measuring him. "Hadrian Sean Moreau." Ollivander's eyes had a twinkle as he observed Hadrian. "How long have you known the other boy?" He asked him and I raised an eyebrow at him. "I've known Tom only for about a day, but he's very skilled and amazing." I felt warmth in my chest at his words, I loved being praised more than anything else.

"Try this- yew wood, 10 inches with a dragon heart-string core. Nope- try rose-wood, 11 inches with a veela hair core. That won't do either, two tricky costuners? This must be my lucky day." His eyes got brighter and brighter as the pile got bigger. "I wonder.." He handed Hadrian the brother wand to mine and as soon as his hand touched it a sharp light went through the room and blue sparks filtered through. "Excuse my language, but holy shite that was insane," Ollivander exclaimed."I'll give you half off on both, that'll be 30 galleons," he says with a grin on his face. Hadrian writes in the checkbook and hands the check to Ollivander.

"Have a good day," he yells after us as we exit the building. My hand was securely on my wand as we walked towards a shop called Tanner's Trinkets. "We need parchment, quills, and ink," he tells me as he quickly heads towards an isle full of scrolls of parchment, bottled ink, and fancy quills. He grabbed 10 scrolls of parchment, 4 bottle of ink, 10 quills, and two quill sharpeners. He purchased the items and put them into a bag with all of the other things. "We'll get trunks for our things, they're very important and you can put spells or runes on them to keep them safe." We go into another shop, barely spending ten minutes inside before we're exiting with two trunks. 

"It's getting late, we should head back and pick up our clothes," before I can say a word he's heading off into the direction where Twilfitt & Tatting's is. As we walked in the same lady appeared with two separate bags in hand. "We just finished them all, your total is 526 galleons." The greed in her eyes made me realize just how much money he spent. She handed me my bag and him his bag as he wrote the check.

"We best get going," Hadrian says as he looks at his watch.


	5. Deputy Headmaster

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dumbledore makes his first appearance as he gives the young wizards their letters, immediately he becomes suspicious of them.

**HARRY'S** **POV**

* * *

 

We arrived back at the orphanage around noon for lunch. We managed to get all of the stuff into our room without Madam Langie seeing our stuff, at least the books had muggle repelling charms on them. I put my trunk at the end of my bed and gave Tom his things as we both began the long process of unpacking and organizing everything. "You forgot to tell me the rules and how things work around here, Tom," I say and he looks absolutely appalled at the fact he forgot something causing me to chuckle. "It's human nature to forget things," I tell him as I hang my muggle clothing in the closet.

"Well you have to be up by eight every morning for breakfast or you won't get any. You have to clean your dishes and eat all of your food. Do not talk back to any adults or you can be punished by getting hit with a wooden spoon on the hand or slapped. Lunch is at one in the afternoon and then you have dinner at six. You must be in bed by nine at latest. She normally takes one of us shopping with her during grocery day which is Sunday. You also get assigned a chore Sunday such as doing the Garden or sweeping and mopping the place. Do not leave any lights on if you do not need it or you'll be punished heavily." This almost sounded worse than my parents, _almost_. Tom was already done packing and he had grabbed the introduction of the wizarding world out so he can read.

I smile slightly as he loses himself in the book, I grabbed this book because it'll be unbiased towards muggles, Hogwarts houses, and politics. I, myself had an unhealthy obsession with our government and society. I don't think I want to join the Ministry thiugh, I'd be targeted by people with different views. I finished putting away my clothes and putting my stuff my trunk. I actually wouldn't mind gardening, I feel as though I won't be half bad at it.

"Let's go," Tom says suddenly and closes his book as Madam Langie yells that it's lunch time. The thundering feet of all of the other children scares me slightly. _I will not be intimidated by muggles._ I repeated that in my head as I closely followed Tom, none of them seemed surprised there was another kid. They did look surprised when I sat next to Tom and he didn't do anything else besides smile at me. I would've laughed if I hadn't been so tense. I was even more tense when Madam Langie asked me to do opening prayer.

**LANGIE'S POV**

* * *

 

I returned to the orphanage with the bags of groceries and young Billie Stubbs holding the other bags behind me. We entered the kitchen and he placed them on the counter. "Go play with the others Billie," I order him and he complies instantly. He was by far the most obediant, but definitely not mature. Tom Riddle held that title, but he was not obedient at all. He spent far too much time down by the river stream and in London. He also had a few squabbles between the other orphans here. I shook myself out of these thoughts as I heard a knock at the front door.

I opened the door to reveal a man in probably his mid fifties with a long auburn beard. "I am here to see Thomas Riddle Jr. and Hadrian Moreau," the man says with a bright smile and blue twinkling eyes. "Oh excuse my manners Madam, the name is Albus Dumbledore the Deputy Headmaster of the Prestigious school Hogwarts," he says and kisses my hand causing me to blush.

"My name is Langie Freeman. Please come to my office. What is the reason you're here Mister Dumbledore?" I ask him as I lead him to my office just around the corner. We both take a seat, him on the other side of the desk in front of me as I pour two small classes of Whiskey.

"I am here to offer the two boys a place at Hogwarts, both of their parents left it in their will. I was actually quite good friends with Hadrian Moreau's father, he was a representative of the Italian and French government." He stopped speaking to take a sip of the freshly poured Whiskey. "Their tuition will both be paid for, Tom's family has been going to this school for nearly a millennium," he informs and I nearly choke on my own drink.

"It would leave the orphanage with more money if they were to go to this school. How long and when would they be there?" I ask him as I place my glass on the table. "A train will take them to Hogwarts on September 1st at eleven in the morning. They will be there until late May, but they can come home for Holidays if they sign up," he explains to me enthusiastically. "May I speak with the two boys?" He asks me politely.

"Sure, follow me they're in the Garden currently," I say with a smile as I stand up and lead him outside and to the side of the house where the sun shines brightest. The two of them were talking quietly as Hadrian patted down the soil with a snake nearby. I already know about Tom's obsession with those demonic creatures, maybe it was wrong to make them roommates. "Boys! Someone is here to see you," I yell at them and they both look up. Hadrian whispers something to Tom who nods in response. "I'll leave you with them, tell me if they misbehave," I say and go back into the building.

**DUMBLEDORE'S POV**

* * *

 

The two boys both stood and I recognised Hadrian instantly, he looked like a mix of his parents. His features and build resembled that of his Mother's including her eyes, but he had his father's black hair that was a bit neater and the glasses. "Hello Mister Moreau, Mister Riddle. I am the Deputy Headmaster of Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry," I say and hand them their letters. "You two seem very close, did you already tell him what he is?" I ask Hadrian, who nodded in response.

"Well, your school supplies list and your ticket is inside. I will see you on September 1st, be careful boys," I tell them and begin walking to the apparation point. There was definitely something off about those two, I just couldn't place my finger on it. It had something to do with Hadrian, but that's where it stopped.


	6. Glimpse of The Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A nightmare sets of a series of events the day before the boys board the Hogwarts Express.

**HARRY'S** **PO** **V**

* * *

 

The day before we were to go to Hogwarts, I woke up with a start. All I can remember from my dream is a woman screaming and a bright green light coming towards me. The only spell that makes that colour is the killing curse. I shivered slightly as I removed the blankets from my body, it was around three am on August 31st. I looked at Tom, who was still peacefully sleeping and smiled slightly. I crept towards the door as quietly as possible, making sure the floor didn't creak. I once again looked back at Tom to make sure he was asleep before I exited the room. I headed towards the bathroom in the darkness, the only light from the moonlight shining through the window.

I opened the bathroom door and quickly entered, shutting and locking it behind me. I turned on the light and turned to stare into the mirror. There were very light bags underneath my eyes on my pale skin. I stared at my emerald green eyes that reminded me of the flashes of green in my dream. I felt oddly disoriented as I began looking around the room and I felt panic begin to rise in my chest. It felt as though the walls were caving in on me as I began calculating the distance to the walls and how far apart they were. My chest began rising up and down at a rapid pace and my breath quickened. 

I felt my eyes water as my eyes whipped around the room. I felt as though I was going insane as my breathing quickened and my throat constricted. My body shook as a sharp pain flared throughout my head. Was this a panic attack? I cursed as I fell onto my knees and the pain in my head got worse. I wanted to scream, but instead I bit my tongue hard enough to draw blood. I was so confused, but I knew exactly where I was. I managed to get back on my feet and stumble to the door. I unlocked the door and stepped out into the dark. I heard a giggle from the corner and my head snapped upward. In an instant the boy named Billie poured water all over me. I shivered as the cold liquid seeped through my clothes. I didn't even address him as I walked back into my room, still disoriented.

Tears were streaming down my face and I had no idea why they were. I sniffled as I wiped the tears from my face. I discarded my soaked clothes onto the ground and grabbed a pair of gray cotton trousers and a black jumper. I closed my eyes and allowed myself to calm down in case I woke Tom up, he needs his rest after all. I slipped under the covers and eventually I succumbed to sleep.

I once again snapped awake as the bedroom door opened, but now the sun was up and Tom was putting on his shirt. Madam Langie stood there with a furious expression on her face. "Moreau, follow me!" She said sharply and I felt a surge of fear go through me. Tom was glaring at her and his hand that was holding his button up shirt was shaking violently. I gave him a quick smile before she grabbed my shoulder sharply and led me towards her office. "Sit!" She barked at me and I complied instantly.

"The bathroom light was left on during the night and Mister Billie Stubbs told me he saw you leaving it last." I was nearly one hundred percent sure I had turned off the light before leaving. I was having a panic attack though, so it could be true. "Madam, I don't think it was me I was experiencing anx-" She cuts me off by a harsh slap to my cheek. "The bill is going to be much more costly! I don't know if we'll have enough to feed all of the kids even with you and Tom gone. Now you're saying you may be sick mentally? When you get back from that school you'll be seeing my friend from the Church," she was seething and I felt utterly terrified. How could I make such a careless mistake? Or did Billie leave it on, on purpose? 

"Give me your hands, freak!" She snarled and I froze. That word struck a cord in me and I had no reason why. She forcefully grabbed my hand and grabbed a switch, bringing it down harshly onto my hand. I winced slightly, but did not make a sound. That seemed to anger her because she went down harder the next time. She then used it to hit me in the back. I let out a small sound so she hit in the same spot again. I didn't make a sound so she did it even harder on another place on my pack. I yelped slightly as I felt my skin break. I wanted to hurt her beyond belief in that moment, first she calls me a freak and then she has the audacity to hit me? She's nothing but the perfect representation of the worst kind of muggle. I pulled away and took her hand off of me. "You won't touch me again," I say with a tone void of emotion. I see her shiver much to my satisfaction, but then she strikes me across the face with the switch. The crack echoes through the room and a tear falls from eyes, mixing with the blood. "Go to your room, no meals for the rest of your stay." I quickly leave the room and race back up to mine and Tom's room.

He rushes towards me as soon as I'm in the room. I don't meet his eyes as he lets out a growl at the bruise and cut on my face. "Where else?" He snaps at me causing me to jump slightly. I show him my hands and remove my shirt to reveal my back. I was oddly touched at his anger though. I relaxed when I felt his hands working its magic, numbing the pain to heal it. I hummed in satisfaction as the pain from the ones on my back went away. "Come on, let's go to the bathroom and clean you up," he says gently and leads me towards the bathroom. He puts my hands under warm water and I can feel his magic numbing the pain and clotting the blood.

"I'm afraid I can't completely heal them or she'll notice, all I can do for now is clot it and relieve the pain. Tomorrow, I'll make sure to get rid of it, don't worry. We can't have someone of such superiority in pain can we?" He says with a chuckle causing me to smile. "I'm assuming she said no food, I'll steal some food for you." Then he was gone and I was in my room alone.

* * *

Me and Tom entered through the brick wall and instantly he pulled me aside to fix the wounds on my face and hands. It was short and quick, but I savored the warmth his magic radiated. "Thank you, Tom," I say with an appreciative smile. He was slightly upset at me for not telling him why I was punished, but I don't want him getting in trouble for murdering Billy. He had made Langie's last day with us living hell, she now had a broken arm from food left on the stairs. "It's nothing," he replied coldly causing me to sigh. I head towards the train with him trailing behind me. I had taught him his manners as one of a higher blood status, his Slytherin blood alone made him superior to everyone in the building as he was a direct descendant of Salazar Slytherin.

We boarded the train and I made my way towards the back, the train tended to end up divided by houses or blood status. I was going where the Slytherin's and kids of higher blood status went. I opened a compartment door and signaled for Tom to enter first. As soon as we both settled in I opened my mouth. "We better be both sorted into Slytherin or I will personally make you switch houses. Also, stop being a prick, please over me not telling you. I will not have my only friend go to Azkaban for murder," I say calmly as possible. He blushes slightly, but nods nonetheless. I already miss his crimson eyes that I was forced to turn back to cobalt. "Can I make your eyes green to match Slytherin? They won't be like mine because no one is allowed to have my beautiful eyes." He nods in excitement as I pull out my wand and mumble the incantation. His eyes turn into a darker green with some swirls of cobalt because his natural eyes are gorgeous.

"Thank you," he says quietly and smiles at me. The compartment door opens in that moment, revealing a handsome pale blond haired boy and a soft looking brunette. "First years?" The blonde boy asked us. I sat up a bit straighter as I recognised him as a Malfoy and nodded. "Would you mind if we sat you? My name is Abraxas Malfoy and that is Theodore Nott but you can call him Theo," the Malfoy heir asks.

"Of course, Hadrian Moreau," I say and I begin to introduce Tom but he cuts me off. "Thomas Riddle Junior," he says curtly with a nod. I smile slightly as a surge of pride goes through me, he truly was a natural at this. The two boys sit across from us and put their things on the rack as the train begins moving. "I'm going to get dressed into my school robes, would you care to join me?" Tom asks me as he stands and closes the book he was reading. I nod and grab my robes. "We'll be back," I say to the other two.

I follow him to the bathroom and lock it as soon as we're both inside. It was only one room, but it was decently sized. It was very obviously expanded like all of the compartments. I removed my shirt and outer robe, avoiding Tom's eyes. It felt odd getting dressed in front of him, mainly because his eyes always scanned over me for any signs of a wound or injury. Soon enough I was putting on my school uniform trousers, made of finer material than the ones at Madam Malkin's. I put on my white button up shirt and buttoned it up. I put the gray jumper over it and fixed my collar. I put on my robes, making sure to button the five silver buttons by my stomach. When I looked up Tom was already done, he was fixing his curly hair in the mirror.

No one can mistaken him for a muggle-born, his features were too sophisticated and he carried himself perfectly. Just fixing his hair made it seem to elegant, but in reality it was so simple. I smiled once again at him. "Where do you get your looks from?" Tom asks me as he turns around. "I have my father's hair and people say I look like him the most. I don't think that though, I have my mother's eyes and softer elegant features. My build is petite like hers, I have her nose and lips too. My mother had red hair though, it was always very long and held back in a clip," I say and study myself in the mirror. "Do you know who you look like the most?" I ask him quietly, his family was a touchy subject that he never brought up.

"I would like to know that myself. My mother died giving birth to me, but I know she named me after my father. I don't know if he's alive or not, or if he was a wizard and she was some muggle," he whispered. "There is only one known line related to Salazar Slytherin, I can do some research for you?" I say questioningly and his eyes light up. "Really? You'd do that for me?" His voice was desperate as he looked at me.

"Of course, Tom. What are friends for?" I say with a smile.


	7. The Sorting Hat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The bots arrive at Hogwarts and are sorted, but the song leaves most concerned.

**TOM'S** **POV**

* * *

 

The train came to a stop in Hogsmeade and the sun was already setting. I had read that this was one of the few pure magical communities. It makes sense to have the school by it, only people of the magical community will see us. I stayed close to Hadrian as an old man told us to follow him. He carried a lantern in his right hand and his wand in his left. We followed him to a lake where multiple boats were lined up, I gulped slightly. What if it tipped over? I can't swim, they never taught us how. I had confidence though Hadrian wouldn't let me drown, he was amazing at everything.

I gently stepped into a boat with him and he got into it too, along with a boy that oddly resembled a rat much to my disgust. I observed Hadrian to see how he was reacting to all of this, but his face was void of emotion. I hated not being able to read him, what was so different with him? I focused on the boat gliding across the water. I ducked down as a stone bridge was above us, but when it turned I couldn't help but gasp. The castle was beautiful, it was lit up and you could feel the warmth of it's magic rooted into the stone walls. I looked at Hadrian and noticed a confused expression on his face, I'll be discussing some things with him tonight.

The boats came to a stop once they reached the docks. I gently stepped out and made sure to stay as close as possible to Hadrian as we followed the old man. We followed him up the stone steps to two big doors. The door was opened by none other than Albus Dumbledore who had a twinkle in his eyes. "Thank you, Dean!" He told the old man now named Dean. "Follow me students," Dumbledore said turning to the first years. The inside was even better than the outside, all of it was beautiful and radiated centuries old magic.

We followed him to a room that only had two doors and whatever was behind it was loud. "Shortly, you will all be sorted into one of four houses. There is Hufflepuff for the kind-hearted and loyal, there is Gryffindor for the brave and determined, there is Ravenclaw for the intelligent and people that strive to learn, and then there is Slytherin for the cunning and ambitious people. Wait here, I will be back shortly." He headed into the room behind the two doors. "Do you know how we get sorted?" I asked Hadrian as other students began talking.

"I'm the first in my family to go here, I don't know how. I-I yeah no I can't remember, I thought for a second I knew it!" He exclaimed slightly upset. "It's okay, Hadrian," I say and hesitantly rub his shoulder in a comforting manner. He smiled in response as Dumbledore entered the room again. "Follow me," he says and the two doors open, revealing a huge room with four tables and one big table for the adults. The most captivating part was the ceiling, charmed to look like the nighttime sky. In the front of the room was a stool with a hat on it. Everyone was staring at the hat expectantly, it then began singing;

 _In times of old, when I was new,_  
_And Hogwarts barely started,_  
_The founders of our noble school_  
_Thought never to be parted._

 _United by a common goal,_  
_They had the selfsame yearning_  
_To make the world's best magic school_  
_And pass along their learning._

 _"Together we will build and teach"_  
_The four good friends decided._  
_And never did they dream that they_  
_Might some day be divided._

 _For were there such friends anywhere_  
_As Slytherin and Gryffindor?_  
_Unless it was the second pair_  
_Of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw,_

 _So how could it have gone so wrong?_  
_How could such friendships fail?_  
_Why, I was there, so I can tell_  
_The whole sad, sorry tale._

 _Said Slytherin, "We'll teach just those_  
_Whose ancestry's purest."_  
_Said Ravenclaw, "We'll teach those_ _whose_ _i_ _ntelligence is surest."_

 _Said Gryffindor, "We'll teach all those_  
_With brave deeds to their name."_  
_Said Hufflepuff, "I'll teach the lot_  
_And treat them just the same."_

 _These differences caused little strife_  
_When first they came to light._  
_For each of the four founders had_  
_A house in which they might_

 _Take only those they wanted, so,_  
_For instance, Slytherin_  
_Took only pure-blood wizards_  
_Of great cunning just like him._

 _And only those of sharpest mind_  
_Were taught by Ravenclaw_  
_While the bravest and the boldest_  
_Went to daring Gryffindor._

 _Good Hufflepuff, she took the rest_  
_and taught them all she knew,_  
_Thus, the houses and their founders_  
_Maintained friendships firm and true._

 _So Hogwarts worked in harmony_  
_For several happy years,_  
_But then discord crept among us_  
_Feeding on our faults and fears._

 _The Houses that, like pillars four_  
_Had once held up our school_  
_Now turned upon each other and_  
_Divided, sought to rule._

 _And for a while it seemed the school_  
_Must meet an early end._  
_What with duelling and with fighting_  
_And the clash of friend on friend._

 _And at last there came a morning_  
_When old Slytherin departed_  
_And though the fighting then died out_  
_He left us quite downhearted._

 _And never since the founders four_  
_Were whittled down to three_  
_Have the Houses been united_  
_As they once were meant to be._

 _And now the Sorting Hat is here_  
_And you all know the score:_  
_I sort you into Houses_  
_Because that is what I'm for._

 _But this year I'll go further,_  
_Listen closely to my song:_  
_Though condemned I am to split you_  
_Still I worry that it's wrong,_

 _Though I must fulfil my duty_  
_And must quarter every year_  
_Still I wonder whether sorting_  
_May not bring the end I fear._

 _Oh, know the perils, read the signs,_  
_The warning history shows,_  
_For our Hogwarts is in danger_  
_From external, deadly foes._

 _And we must unite inside her_  
_Or we'll crumble from within_  
_I have told you, I have warned you..._  
_Let the Sorting now begin._

Everyone applauded including myself, despite some of the teachers looking concerned. Dumbledore cleared his throat, "When I call your name please sit on the stool and place the hat on your head." He began listing names off one by one, it didn't take long for him to reach Hadrian Moreau. "Hadrian Moreau," Dumbledore called and Hadrian walked towards the stool, sat down, and put on the hat. I was dying to know what it was saying, but barely a minute afterwards it yelled out Slytherin.

I smiled at him as he headed towards the table with a green banner with a silver snake embedded on it. Malfoy had also been sorted into Slytherin, along with Nott, Crabbe, and Goyle. I was shaking with anticipation when my name was finally called. I placed the hat on my head as soon as I was seated. _Hm, very cunning and ambitious. You want to make this society everything Hadrian wants? You're very_ _possessive_ _too. You have a_ _thirst_ _for knowledge and power. You'll do anything to achieve your goals. Definitely a_ SLYTHERIN! The hat yelled my house out loud as I headed towards Hadrian. I was slightly unnerved at the fact the hat knew everything about me.

"I'm proud of you," he murmured as I sat next to me. My heart soured at the compliment and for once in my life, I felt content. I turned to watch the rest of the sorting, we gained one more member who was called by the name of Avery. Dippit the Headmaster gave a very short speech and snapped his fingers, causing mounds of food to appear on the tables. I was going to definitely enjoy my time at Hogwarts, I realized in that moment as I smiled.


	8. Dead Eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tom's dead eyes quickly begin scaring Hadrian unlike anything else.

**HARRY'S** **POV**

* * *

 

The prefect led us down into the dungeons, it had a cold feel to it. I was quite shocked when I easily picked up on the trail to the common room very easily. The walls of Hogwarts made me feel as though I had just arrived home after being away for a long time. I was fascinated with Tom's reaction to everything, it was obvious he was trying to hold back with gaping. I could see the excitement and happiness in his beautiful eyes though, I wanted to see the look in his eyes more often instead of the blank dead feeling. We arrived in front of a door with no handle, just a metal snake latch. "Pleurer," the prefect said and the snakes slowly moved apart and the door swung open.

"Please wait here in the common room as Professor Slughorn, the Head of Slytherin house makes his way here. He will be explaining the personal rules we have in this house and explaining what it is to be a Slytherin," he told us just as Professor Slughorn entered the room. He smiled gratefully at the older boy he referred to as Kistler. "Hello students, my name is Professor Horace Slughorn and welcome to Slytherin house! In Slytherin house we put our members above anyone else. We must stick together and hold onto our beliefs, we must stay loyal to each other. Never turn on each, do not forget this: What stays in Slytherin, stays in Slytherin as long as they do not get caught. Now, you all get two to a room so go and choose your roommates and grab your trunks from the hall!" He clapped excitedly with a grin on his face. I turned to Tom and smiled excitedly at him, dragging him up the stairs.

We chose a room at the end of the hall and our names appeared by the door on a golden plaque on the wall. I put my trunk at the end of my own bed as Tom did the same. I looked at my uniform to see the Slytherin crest on the robe, green and silver outling the gray sweater and my tie green and silver. I removed my robe and shirt, once again shivering as I felt Tom's eyes on me. "Hadrian, I'd like to talk to you." I didn't respond to him as I put on my silk pajamas. That seemed to anger him though, he definitely does not like to be ignored. "Hadrian," he said in his usual unemotional voice. I looked in his eyes and saw the usual dead look instead of the excitement and happiness. I went numb inside.

"What do you want to talk about?" I snapped at him, turning to him fully. Something flickered in his eyes, I couldn't tell if it was hurt or confusion. "I've seen old scars on your body, and after much thinking I think I know what they're from. Not to mention, lately you seem so out of it and confused," he says in a confused tone, I'd never seen him like this.  
"Why do you want to know?" I ask him after a moment of us staring at each other. "They should pay for what they've done to you-"

I cut him off sharply. "They've already paid," I say and think on the memories of my parents. I didn't hold any anger towards them oddly, but there was definitely anger in me caused by repeated abuse and torment. He finally went silent, his eyes going glassy and dazed. They were unemotional, void of excitement or happiness that they'd once had. I hated seeing his eyes like that, it's like he was ruined. I turned away from him and slipped under my covers and eventually I heard him slip into his own bed. I allowed myself to succumb to the darkness, but not for long.

I woke up gasping for air as sweat trickled down my neck, instantly turning cool. I shook slightly as my eyes squinted in the darkness, but I couldn't see without my glasses. I saw Tom though, his eyes finally clouded with emotion. He was close enough I could see the concern and confusion in his eyes. His eyes. His cold and unemotional eyes had been in my nightmare. They had stared into mine, unwavering and void of any happiness or hope. He'd been saying something, but I can't remember what he said. I can only remember those cold eyes and his lips mouthing the word freak. The sound filtered back into my mind, _freak._ It had been his smooth and cold voice, but it turned into a harsh and cold angry voice of a middle aged man. The voice was familiar though, but no name came to mind. I blindly reached for my glasses as Tom's lips moved, but I could not hear him. I froze as he placed my glasses on my face and his full body came into view. 

  
He was not saying freak and his eyes were full of emotion that he only let me see. "Hadrian?" He called out to me and I realized I could hear his soft, sweet voice. "C-can I hug you?" I asked hopefully, I know he doesn't like being touched. He hesitantly nods and I wrap my arms around him, he was warm unlike my shivering body. He himself shivered at the contrast of our body heat, but he wrapped his arms around me. "Way to start off our first night at Hogwarts," he murmured and I cracked a smile. We pulled apart and his eyes once again met mine. "You were screaming and shouting, can you tell me what you were dreaming about?" He asks me as he tucks my blanket around me.

"You, but it wasn't you. Your eyes were dead and void of any emotion. You were repeating the word freak over and over again, but it turned into someone else's voice. I know the voice, but I can't remember their name!" I say exasperated, falling backwards into my pillow. He was quiet as he turned off the light and set my glasses on the night table next to my bed. "You aren't a freak," he whispered to me and gave me a smile before returning to his bed. I closed my eyes as I was hit with a wave of exhaustion.

Lucius Malfoy should have done much more research on the obliviation spell and Harry Potter's past before he cast the spell. One of the things the spell can't do is create false emotions, nor remove traumatic experiences and place the blame of the trauma on another person. With that one mistake, his spell could deteriorate very quickly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the short chapters. they'll get longer as they go on.


	9. Dumbledore and Study Sessions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On the first day of classes, Dumbledore manages to anger Hadrian.The boys look forward to.a study session later that week with the Slytherin first years.

**HARRY'S POV**

* * *

 

I felt energetic the next day as we made our way towards the Great Hall. We sat at the Slytherin table with the other first year Slytherin's. "We should start a study group together, Slytherin's have to have the best grades after all. We will have to get our schedules before we can figure out the day," Abraxas says as he cuts into his waffles. I began putting food on my plate, making sure to stick to decently healthy foods. Slughorn was already walking up and down the sides of the Slytherin table and handing out our schedule. I internally groaned when I received my schedule, Dumbledore is the first class of the day. Others seemed to feel the same as I if there groans and sighs were anything to go by. Dumbledore was the exact opposite of the Pure-blood beliefs and it disgusted most of us.

On Monday's we had: transfiguration, herbology, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Charms, Lunch, History of Magic, Healing, and then Potions at the end of the day. It was the same everyday besides Friday's, instead of History of Magic there were flying lessons and at midnight Astronomy. Thankfully we all had the same schedule, but the majority of our classes were with Gryffindor. There was a petty feud between Slytherin and Gryffindor, but honestly it was just good old teasing and harmless. A lot of Slytherin's and Gryffindor's were friends.

I finished my breakfast and checked on Tom to see that he was already done. He was reading the Transfiguration book for the fifth time and I couldn't help but chuckle slightly. "Come on," I say standing up and Tom continues to sit there for five more minutes. "Done," he finally says and closes the book as he stands up. The other boys in the group laughed slightly. "You prat," I mutter as me and him begin our way towards Transfiguration with Dumbledore. Surprisingly, we made it there fairly quickly thanks to the fact that the castle oddly felt familiar to me. We both sat down at a table in the front on the left row of the room. The rest of the Gryffindor's and Slytherin's entered the room quickly and the Slytherin house took the left side and the Gryffindor house took the right. Once again, it was a very petty feud.

"Hello, students!" Dumbledore said happily as he entered the room with a bright grin on his aging face. "In this class we will be learning the art of Transfiguration. Transfiguration is the family of magical spells that are used for changing objects from one type of thing into another. This subject can be hard if you do not believe you can do it or lack confidence, but overall anyone has the ability to turn something into something else. So, today we will be starting off with a simple spell such as the match to needle spell. The incantation is aiguiloso," he says the spell and points his wand at his desk where a match is. It turned into a needle with great detail on it. "Now enjoy," he says and begins walking around to help struggling students.

I could already do the spell, so I checked on Tom. "Aiguiloso," he whispered nearly silent and the match turned silver with a pointed end. He did it again and managed to get the loop at the top where the string normally went. I realized he didn't need any help with a smile and quickly transfigured it. Tom was the first person to get it correct, much to my pleasure. He was a natural at it's finest, magic naturally came to him. He definitely had the confidence for Transfiguration, which was needed in all spells. "Ten points to Gryffindor!" Dumbledore said as a Gryffindor finally got the spell right after his help. That caused anger to flare through me, so I raised my hand. "Mister Moreau?" He calls on me.

"Tom got the spell done first," I say and he pauses for a second. "Very well, five points to Slytherin," he says and walks away. That ended up putting me in a mood for the rest of the day, much to the rest of the first year's displeasure. They finally got to see my attitude, but Tom was already use to it and just watched me with an amused glint in his eyes. When it was finally potions, I was only slightly pissed off but enough for other's to realize I was still upset. Professor Slughorn entered the room happily with a grin on his face. "Students, I don't see much for talking really when you could be brewing potions and perfecting the art. You all will be learning about the different plants in herbology. I'm putting this out here now though, you will have to read one chapter of your potions every night or in lunch before your next potions class so you are prepared," he begins his speech. "Everyday we will brew a new potion, have certain tests on how to make that potions and have contests sometimes. Today we will be brewing the herbicide potion that is used to kill poisonous plants and weeds in a garden. You can find the instructions in your book or the board," he says and sits down at his desk with a sigh.

"Grab the ingredients," Tom tells me as he begins preparing his knives and cauldron, also setting up mine. I do as told and grab the lion fish spines, horklump juice, flobberworm mucus, and the base. I return with the repulsive ingredients on the table and begin working on the potion. I looked over the instructions to refresh my brain on the steps and began crushing the lion fish spines into a fine powder. The class was fairly loud as students chatted and worked on the potions. I happened to be natural potions, because of my love for cooking and science. I want to be a Master in Potions and maybe work at Saint Mungo's or the Ministry of Magic. Both would get me connections pretty easily as Potions was becoming a forgotten art and less people were mastering in it. I checked on Tom to see how he was doing and didn't feel surprised when I saw that it looked perfect so far. I had the urge to constantly check on Tom and make sure he was doing okay. He'd been adapting to our culture very easily and didn't fuss about leaving behind the muggle culture unlike most people who grew up in the muggle world. 

We both managed to finish ten minutes before the bell was due to ring and put some of it into a vial. We were allowed to keep a vial of each potion we make as a trophy he had said and gave us all a small pouch that had an expansion charm on it. We gave Professor Slughorn our potions and headed back to our seats to clean up and pack up our stuff. I took the cauldron's and knives to the sink where I cleaned them. You can't cast magic on cauldron's or it'll mess up the outcome of the potion. Tom had begun putting away our books and left over ingredients when I returned. I packed our bags just as the bell rang and we were ready to leave. "Mister Moreau and Riddle, please stay behind," Professor Slughorn called after us.

"Did we do something, Professor?" Tom asks in the sweet voice he uses to remain innocent in the eyes of his Professor's. "No, not at all! I'm sorry to worry you two, I just wanted to say that both of your potions are absolutely brilliant. They're nearly as good as mine, I'm honored to be able to teach you two," he says with a smile on his face as he looked at us in an appraising manner. "Thank you," we both say with a slight pink tinted on our cheeks. "Now off you go, enjoy your free time before dinner!" He says clapping his hands.

* * *

Our study sessions were decided to be on Sunday nights at seven, directly after dinner. We all met up in one of the abandoned classroom's in the dungeons. We cast a spell to get rid of all of the dust, I lit up the candles and Abraxas repaired the chairs and tables. Tom cast a heating spell on all of us as we all sat down and pulled out our class homework and books. "What are we all struggling with the most? Let's go around," Theo suggests as we all get comfortable. "I'm struggling with History of Magic, the teacher is a bloody ghost that doesn't know he's dead!" He exclaims and we all hum in agreement. "Honestly, we know most of the basic history since we were taught by other wizard's as we grew up, but it was only our traditions," Aiden Avery says.

"So what shall we start on first? The goblin wars or the witch trials?" Tom asks as he opens his book, that he had already read seven times. "I've always been really interested in the Goblin wars, we were losing at one point because the battle got so bloody," Crabbe says as we all open our books. "It is quite fascinating, I mean they now run our bank and are respected human beings amongst the Noble and Ancient families," I comment. "One of the first rebellions took place in 1612 in the vicinity of Hogsmeade and the Three Broomstick's Inn was used as their headquarters. The goblin's roared down the streets with swords and armor laced with basilik venom in the swords so anyone that got cut would die with no chance of survival. They screamed about equal rights and would destroy buildings of those who disrespected them. In 1752 another rebellion occured in Great Britain. Due to mismanaging this rebellion, Minister for Magic Albert Boot resigned. His replacement, Basil Flack, lasted in office only two months, resigning when the goblins allied themselves with the werewolves. Hesphaestus Gore was then elected Minister. Another rebellion took place in the 18th century and was noted to be a popular one, as Urg the Unclean, a goblin, participated in that one and was featured on a Chocolate Frog Cards for doing so. The battle fields were full of mangled bodies and corpses everywhere. The final battle took place right outside of Hogwarts and another in front of Gringotts at the same time. Four thousand wizards were killed and two thousand goblins died, since the Goblin's had a smaller community they lost, but they fought until the end." There was a silence in the room once Abraxas had finished reading out loud.

Theo let out a whistle and let out a shaky laugh. "No wonder they're asshole's to us, that's half of their population of Britain," he said with a grimace. On the next page there was a series of paintings and pictures from the battles with descriptions underneath. "This is grusome," Samuel Crabbe muttered as he looked at one of the pictures of the battle on the fields around Hogwarts. Bodies were everywhere, blood spattered all across the ground and people being stabbed as spells were flying. "Now I understand why we use spells in wars, there's a lot less blood. Why the hell are these pictures in a first year book," Tom commented with a slight chuckle. That set the others off, giggling quietly as they stared at the gruesome pictures.

"How messed up are we for laughing at this?" Aiden asks with a laugh. "Oh Aiden, we are very messed up," Abraxas says with a chuckle as he leans back in his chair, his arm thrown across Aiden's shoulder. "Isn't everyone kinda messed up in the head right now? Like I keep up on the muggle politics, because honestly I find it amusing. It's also concerning, Germany and Britain aren't getting along that much right now. If they drop one of those bombs, there isn't a chance of survival even for wizards. I bet in three to four years there will be a war in the muggle and magical world of Britain," Theo says grimly. It puts us all into an awkward silence. "Are any of you in the muggle world currently?" Abraxas asks as he looks around.

"Me and Tom are, I met him in London after I had a bout of accidental magic and landed there. We stay at an orphanage for now," I say glumly and they all look slightly worried. "London? That'd be the first target of Germany," Theo says exasperated. "I'm hoping it'll start when we're at Hogwarts, plus when we're fourteen we can claim Lordship of our houses and get out of there," Tom says as he closes his book. "Now, we have classes tomorrow and I need my beauty sleep," Tom says with a hint of sass in his voice as he stands and packs his things. "Drama queen," I mutter and begin packing my things. I laugh when I get a gentle slap to the back of my head.


	10. Celebration of Samhain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys celebrate Samhain as the muggle traditions take over and Tom's sleeping schedule begins to crumble.

**TOM'S** **POV**

* * *

 

It was now a few days away from Halloween, it seemed to come too quick for mine and Hadrian's liking. We were on our way to Potions class and once again Hadrian was upset with Dumbledore. The thing our group didn't know what to do was if we should meet up on Halloween or not since it was still a Sunday. We were debating on celebrating it or just calling it a night and doing whatever. We entered the Potions classroom and sat in our usual spot on the right side of the room in the front. I withheld a yawn as Professor Slughorn entered the room, homework and studying was definitely beginning to affect my sleep schedule.

"You know the drill students, the last chapter you were told to read about was of the herbedy, which is a potion used to help plants grow and thrive. This time though, there will be a competition and whoever makes the best potion will be receiving a prize," he adds with a wink and sits down in his chair. This time I go and get the ingredients from the cupboard as Hadrian sets up the cauldron. It took me a few moments to make sure I had the right ingredients as things went out of focus slightly. I made a mental note to get eight hours of sleep tonight as I do not want to mess any of my classwork up or faint. That'd be the greatest embarassment, well both of them really. I'd worry and disappoint Hadrian, then others will see me as a weak boy.

I returned with the ingredients as I mentally assured myself over and over again that I am not weak. My insecurities seemed to be saying the exact opposite of what I wanted. I grabbed the Horklump juice and carefully measured it before putting it into the cauldron. All I want currently is a good night's rest, for once I want Potions to be over. When I did finish, anger flared through me when it wasn't completely perfect. It needed to be perfect, but it wasn't. I tried to calm down my anger, but it was no use. I didn't bottle it into a vial as it wasn't perfect, I'd have to redo it tonight so I can perfect it. I gave Professor Slughorn my potion and he smiled brightly.

Why is he smiling? It's not perfect, it should be perfect like all of his potions. "I don't know who to decide between, you or Hadr-" I cut him off mid sentence. "My potion isn't perfect, give Hadrian the prize. He's amazing at potions and he's mentioned pursuing a career in this field," I say and walk away to pack my things. Hadrian smiled at me, not sensing my fowl mood. I didn't return a smile though as there was no need to do so. There wouldn't be any sleep tonight for me, just brewing and perfecting everything I learned today.

Slughorn gave Hadrian his prize which was a vial of Draught of Peace. That was quite ironic as the only thing I felt right now was anger and irritation. I felt so relieved when I entered the common room, being dragged though to the couch, us first years called our own was even more delightful. All of the others were engaged in a conversation already when Harry and I sat down onto the couch.

"I'm thinking we should celebrate Samhain and invite some other Slytherin's. We could do the seasonal inaginary, ancestor's alter, and even the feast of the dead," Theo argued with Samuel, who was arguing over celebrating. "I think we deserve the day off, plus isn't that holiday outlawed because of the mudblood's?" He grumbles at Theo who glares at him sharply. "You're acting like one of them now, we will continue our traditions of our ancestor's and you can join the mudblood's!" Theo snarls at Samuel who glares right back at him, then leaves with a fit. "Now, now. We should all calm down right now, I think celebrating Samhain would be a great idea," I say and they all shut up. I loved being in control and respected by them, for all they knew though I was a mudblood. Maybe I'll show them who my ancestor really is, give them something to think about.

With that I leave them and go up to my room to catch a hour of sleep before dinner time. As I was drifting off, Hadrian entered the room.

* * *

Today was Samhain and I had thoroughly made sure to read up on the holiday and it's practices. I had managed to find a few of my ancestor's and their pictures along with food they like by using a book of people related to Salazar Slytherin. Today was the day I would be telling the other first years of my parsel tongue ability, but Hadrian wanted his to remain secret. I had forced myself to get a decent amount of sleep with the encouragement of Hadrian yelling at me.

The school was currently plastered with muggle decorations for Halloween and no sign of what it had once been. Disgust is what flooded through me when I entered the great hall that morning. Bats were all over the ceiling, fake cobwebs, the ghosts floating around miserable, and candy everywhere. Where are the traditions that we once celebrated all night long until the clock struck midnight? As I took my seat next to Hadrian, I realized nearly all of the Slytherin's also looked slightly put off by the decorations. "I swear, we're getting even more muggle like as each day goes by!" Theo mutters angrily as his eyes scan the appalling decorations.

"Someone needs to change something, I want to be able to freely practice the beliefs of my ancestors, not the bloody muggles," Hadrian stated with something fierce alight in his emerald green eyes. I vowed right then and there on my life to make this world a better place for him. I felt a tug in my chest at that thought and nearly choked on my food. "What was that? Which one of you made a bloody vow?" Hadrian hissed, his eyes wide. He turned to me instantly, causing me to gulp slightly. "What was the vow you idiot?" He asked me quietly.

"I'm tell you later," I murmured back as the others stared into my soul. "Only an unbreakable vow does that- holy shite Tom did you just put your life on the line?" Abraxas asked wide-eyed. Samuel snorted slightly, which set Theo off. Theo then sent Avery off which set the rest of us. People stared at us, but it felt good to be able to laugh out in the open. We normally had to be calm and collected, not today though. Today was our holiday to celebrate our ancestors, history, and beginning. I could feel Dumbledore's eyes on us, making sure our cause of amusement wasn't the result of his Gryffindor's pain.

Later that evening me and Hadrian were getting dressed for our private party in the classroom. Avery, Crabbe, Goyle, Malfoy, Hadrian, Walburga Black, Orion Black, Aster Parkinson, and Dorea Black would be joining us for today's party. I put on the custom mask I had ordered, which was more of a masquerade mask with the colours for the evening. All of us were wearing the same thing, but our masks had different designs on it. We all would be wearing black and orange robs including black and orange on our masks. I looked at Hadrian as he ran his hand through his silky black hair.

"Come on, we need to go," he says as he grabs his wand. He tucked it into his wand holster as he headed towards the door and I did the same. Most of the other Slytherin's were at the Halloween feast, because of the food. Thankfully, Abraxas' house elf jumped at the idea of making us a feast and decorating our hang out room. We walked in an awkward silence as we headed towards the classroom we dubbed the Serpent's Home. It had turned into that: a home to all of us. Harry and me entered the room to reveal a dimly lit room, with orange and black candles floating in the air above our heads. The table had multiple platters going down the center with a candle every other three dishes. The room was decorated with all of our ancestors personal altar. People kept on sparingly glancing at mine, not that they knew it was mine. I had sent a letter to Gringotts for my ancestor's photos. They did not disappoint me at all, I had pictures of Salazar Slytherin's great grandparents and all the way until Salazar Slytherin's great great great grandchildren (including siblings and cousins).

We all sat down at the table as Bitzy (the house elf) got a fire going so we could give our offerings to our deceased family members. We did not speak out of respect as we piled food onto plates and lined up in front of the fire, one by one muttering our blessings and giving our offerings to them. As soon as we were done, we finally began talking. "Which one of us is the parsel mouth? Someone's related to Salazar Slytherin," Theo says as his eyes scan every single one of us. No one opened their mouth, I was considering just telling them now.

"It's me," I speak up after a moment of silence and silent accusations being sent around. Samuel choked slightly on his food as Theo raised an eyebrow.

"Mate, I thought you were a muggle-born if I'm being honest. I've never heard of a Riddle before," he admits as he stares at me. I could see it in his eyes, he didn't believe me. That would have to change, distrust leads to betrayal and heartbreak. Those are two things I never plan on experiencing during my life. "Why don't you prove it?" Abraxas asks hesitantly. "Maybe then we can get this settled," he adds after I send him a stern look.

_"Does this sound like I'm lying, you filthy bastard?"_ I say in parsel-tongue causing Hadrian to snicker slightly and Theo spill his pumpkin juice all over the table. "I told you so," I say with a slight smirk on my face as I take a sip of water. "Why don't we conjure a snake so we know that wasn't fake?" Walburga asks hopefully, she believed me. She just wanted to see me interact with another snake. "Go ahead," I say and Orion is the one that does it as he's the oldest. A Burmese python appeared on the ground, hissing angrily at being disturbed.

_"Rude wizards_ _interrupting_ _my meal,"_ it hissed causing me to chuckle. _"I am quite sorry about that, my friends didn't believe I was a snake speaker,"_ I apologize to it. _"A snake speaker? I don't mine being interrupted anymore. What's your name, hatchling?"_ It asks me as it slither's up my leg and around my arm. _"My name is Tom and_ _that_ _boy over there is also a snake speaker. His_ _name_ _is Hadrian, but he_ _doesn_ _'t want people knowing he can speak such a_ _beautiful_ _language,"_ I say and watch as Hadrian rolls his eyes at me, only making me smirk wider. _"He's an idiot for not letting people know he's superior than them,"_ it hisses as it stares at Hadrian. _"Oh yes, he is quite an unintelligent boy,"_ I say, my eyes locked with Hadrian's.

_"He looks like one,"_ the snake says playing along, I could here the snake let out a hiss of amusement as Hadrian glared at it. "Send it back," he ordered Orion in English, but I could tell he nearly slipped into Parsel-tongue. Orion whipped out his wand and muttered the spell causing the snake to disappear from my arm. _"Asshole,"_ I hiss at him causing him to smile innocently back at me. I hadn't even noticed that everyone was still currently staring at me.


	11. Family History

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hadrian uncovers Tom's family's history in a book, but learns even more when he meets Morfin Gaunt.

**HARRY'S** **POV**

* * *

 

I headed to the library alone with a goal, to learn more about Tom's family and history. I know he's a descendant of Salazar Slytherin, so I'll have to follow the blood linked book. It automatically updates when a child of the Slytherin line is conceived and named. I bowed slightly to the librarian Mister Prince, I knew he was a pure-blood and had a six year old daughter named Eileen. I headed towards the back of the library where barely anyone besides some curious muggle-born's went. There were records of all of the Sacred twenty-five. My family was in the sacred ten of France, but I'm determined to change that.

I grab the old leather bound book, that probably weighed thirty pounds because of the amount of pages and protections on it. I sat down in the chair and opened it to the first page. Salazar Slytherin was not the first Slytherin, his great-grandfather Silus Slytherin was the first recorded Slytherin. I flipped through it, scanning most of the pages. All I know is that Tom's mother's name is Merope Gaunt. I knew the Gaunt family were direct descendants of Salazar Slytherin. I flipped towards the end, where I found the name Gaunt come back after generations of mixing in with other closely related lines. There it was, _Marvolo_ _Gaunt (deceased),_ _Merope_ _Gaunt (deceased),_ _Morfin_ _Gaunt (Alive),_ and next to Merope was Thomas Riddle Jr, and underneath the two of them was Thomas Marvolo Riddle. His father was still alive and most likely a muggle if I'm correct. The Gaunt line had lost their power and wealth over the years from inbreeding and spending their money on alcohol and dumb things.

Muggle blood most likely awakened Tom's powers, if Merope had given birth to a child of a pure-blood it most likely would have been a squib. I now just needed to research Tom's father, maybe then I could unite them. I needed to know more though, but I had no idea how. A smile appeared on my face. Why don't I give a visit to dear Morfin? I felt giddy inside as I closed the book and put it back on the shelf.

I'll be sending Nurluk a request for a portkey to the Gaunt residence. I went to the Owlery and sent of the quick letter with a barn owl. I had no idea if I should tell Tom about this or not, I don't want to get his hopes up if his father ends up being a complete prick. I cast a tempus charm and sighed, it was past curfew and Tom is going to be royally pissed at me. I began the long trek to the dungeons, trying to avoid and Prefect's teachers. Not to mention the caretaker Gary, he was very unnerving.

I managed to get back into the common room and no one spared a glance, as long as you don't get in trouble you can do whatever you want. I entered mine and Tom's room to see Tom pacing around the room. "Where the bloody hell were you? I was worried sick!" He snapped at me, his eyes nearly glowing with rage. I swallowed thickly as I felt his magic surround me, it was intoxicating. "T-Tom, calm down," I stutter out as I begin to feel dizzy, his magic was very overwhelming. He takes a few breaths and looks at me, still a little pissed but not choking me with his magic.

"Where were you? Did something happen?" He asks me, bombarding me with questions. "Merlin Tom, I lost track of time in the library and then went to the owlery real quick," I say as I place my bag on my chair and begin removing my clothes. I could feel his suspicious gaze on me, but he said nothing of it. I grabbed my pajamas and head into the bathroom to get ready for a shower. "You're going to be tired tomorrow," he comments from the other side of the door. "Shut up, Tom. You don't think I hear you up at two in the morning? You're the epitome of an insomniac," I say with a roll of my eyes causing him to stay silent.

I step into the warm water of the shower and sigh in content, grabbing my body wash to clean myself off. I quickly put the shampoo in my hair and rinsed it. I didn't bother with casting a spell on my hair to dry it, I ruffled it with a towel and it was a mess, but nearly dry. I slipped on my boxers and pajamas before heading into our room. I gave Tom a small smile before I slid underneath the warm covers of my bed. I'll have to do something about Tom's sleeping habits if I want to sneak out.

* * *

Three days later an owl arrived with a letter and a small package. I smiled as I read the letter, typical Narluk.

  
_Dear Mister_ _Moreau,_

_I am slightly shocked that you'd want a portkey to the Gaunt residence. I can't give you one to their exact location, but I can give you one right outside of their land. This will take you to a dirt path, all you need to do is follow it and you'll see the house. Be careful though, Morfin Gaunt is not exactly the most sane man. To activate the portkey say fleur._

_May your enemies be at your feet,_  
_Nurluk_  
_Moreau Family Bank Manager_

I opened the small package to find a pendant with my family crest on it, an eagle with a golden halo on its head with phoenix wings. I smiled as I ran my thumb over it, I froze though as I was doing so. Why did I feel so empty thinking about everything that happened before I met Tom? It's like I have no emotional attachment to the beginning of my life. I suddenly feel drained in that moment, I should really stop thinking about this type of stuff. I cast a tempus charm and grab the sleeping potion for Tom, I had asked Slughorn for it and he had rushed to give it to me when he learned it was for Tom's lack of sleep.

"Tom?" I called out as I entered our dormitory. He was asleep at his desk, his face on the essay he was writing for Dumbledore. I giggled slightly when I saw the spilled ink and ink smudges on his face. He looked so adorable with his head resting on his arm and blank ink spots on his face. "Hey, Tom. Wake up," I whispered shaking him slightly. He groaned slightly and snuggled into his arm. "Come on, Tom. You need to wake up and go to your bed," I say and he finally cracks open an eye. I smile at him as he sleepily stands, nearly falling over. I grab pajamas from his trunk and hesitantly remove his shirt, trying not to feel awkward as I did so. Once I got him dressed after quite the amount of blushing, I gave him the potion. He was asleep nearly instantly and I cast a quick cleaning spell to get the ink off of his face. I tucked him in then grabbed the pendant. 

The thing about the Hogwarts school wards, was that you could only leave using a portkey, but you can't return with one.

I checked on him once more to make sure he was asleep before whispering the activation word. I felt a sharp tug and fell harshly to the ground. I cursed as I saw slight dirt on my pants. I had worn my finest clothes so Morfin would know of my blood status and to become an ally of the Moreau family. I followed the dirt path and gagged at what it led to. It wasn't even a house, it was more of a shack than anything. There was a snake nailed into the top of the door, how could someone do such a thing? I was already repulsed by the fact that my Tom is related to this scum.

I knocked on the door and seconds later it was opened by a man who reeked of booze and tobacco. "What do you want, kid?" He asked me with a hint of sleepiness in his voice, eyeing me with a suspicious gaze. "I am Hadrian Moreau, the heir of the Ancient and Noble line of Moreau. I would like to speak to you if you wouldn't mind?" I ask him with a cold and collected voice. "Come on in," he says reluctantly, opening the door to reveal a messy kitchen.

"I have some questions about your sister," I begin as we both sit at the table, the only relatively clean thing here. "What about that brat?" He said with a sneer causing me to have the urge to slap him across his face, but the look in his eyes said something else. "When was the last time you saw her?" I ask him after a moment of silence. "Nearly fifteen years ago before she ran off with that filthy muggle boy named Riddle." This was my lucky day, I may have also found her father. "Do you perhaps know what their relationship was like?" I ask him with hopeful eyes. "My sister used a love potion on the muggle, and he returned around eleven or twelve years ago claiming bewitchment. From what I know, she fell in love with that disgusting thing and he left her when he became immune to the potion." I gulped at the information, that was around when Merope most likely became pregnant with Tom. Did he know he had a kid out there? "Where does the muggle man live?" I ask him, standing up.

"He lives in the huge mansion in the village, for Merlin's sake he owns the blasted village!" He snarled and I instantly sensed that he was jealous of a muggle who he considered beneath him, to be more wealthy than he a pure-blood of an ancient line. "Good day Mister Gaunt, thank you for answering my questions," I say and begin to leave but he stops me. "Where is Merope? D-did a pure-blood knock some sense into her?" He asked me, a hopeful glint in his eyes. I then realized his eyes were cobalt blue, just like Tom's.

"Merope died nearly twelve years ago on December 31st," I say quietly causing him to suddenly go blank. "Do you perhaps have a picture of her I could have? A good one perhaps," I ask him hopefully. Tom's birthday was coming up, I wanted to get him something special. "We don't have much money for stuff, but the one thing we did make money for was a small individual picture for each of us. Take care of it kid, but who are you giving this too?" He asks me, suddenly he looked a lot more normal almost and vulnerable.

"Merope had a son, who is the heir of Slytherin. H-he is the bastard of another pure-blood line," I add, for all I know he'd go mad if he learned there was a half-blood in his family line. "Give him these, I'm going to die soon anyways," he says handing me a ring and locket along with the picture. The locket had the Slytherin family crest on it and the ring had the Deathly Hallows symbol on it. It was the resurrection stone, did they even know they had a stone believed to be given to them by the entity of Death? "T-thank you, I'll be sure to give it to him. Also, his middle name is Marvolo," I say and leave before he can speak again. I was now even more curious about the Gaunt family, it was obvious that Morfin cared deeply for his sister. Was that the thing that struck him in the heart? I finally looked at the photo and nearly gasped. She was a beautiful woman, they had most likely made an effort for a family photo. She looked a bit thinner than normal, but she was beautiful. Her eyes were a cobalt blue and she had smooth pale skin with long black hair tied into a bun. She looked no older than twenty years old in the picture. She wore the Slytherin locket around her neck, and had a soft smile on her face.

I couldn't help but smile at the photo, now all I had to do was get a new frame for it. I already planned on going out during the Hogsmeade trip to get gifts for the others. Thankfully, first years were allowed to go for the winter one to get Christmas gifts. I tucked the items in my pocket and got ready to apparate, straight into one of the secret passage ways.

I hit my head against the stone and cursed as I felt a trickle of blood go down my head. I won't be surprised if I have a concussion from how hard I fell. I got up and quickly as possible began heading towards the Slytherin dungeons, ignoring the throbbing pain and dizziness. The common room was dark and empty when I entered, causing me to realize it must be very late. I was suddenly very grateful that tomorrow was Sunday, but very ungrateful for I fell asleep without cleaning the blood off of my face. I was beginning to realize just how possessive Tom was and he was definitely going to be royally pissed at me.

* * *

"What the fuck!" A voice exclaimed, way too close to me for my liking. I felt as though I had only gotten a lick of sleep, which I probably had. "Watch your profanity, you're of higher blood," I mumble and snuggle back into my covers. "Who did this to you? I'll kill them," Tom growled as he placed his hand on my head. I then came to the realization he was sitting on my bed next to me. "So you're going to kill me?" I say with a raised eyebrow. He glares at me and suddenly I want his cobalt eyes back. "Come here you ass," I say and he rolls his eyes at me but complies. I whisper the spell and see the cobalt appear in his eyes again. 

He blinked a few times, but eventually was back to looking pissed off at me. "How did you do that?" He asked me sharply as he allowed his hands to do their work and heal them. "I was attempting to apparate across the room but things went a bit awry," I explain, only partially lying. "Idiot," he grumbles and gets up from my bed. "Sleep, you need it." He then exits the room to most likely get breakfast.

I complied nearly instantly and fell into a not so dreamless sleep. When I awoke, it was nearly lunch time.


	12. Melancholic Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Over the course of the first semester, forgotten memories begin returning to Hadrian, leaving him ill.

**HARRY'S** **POV**

* * *

 

In the middle of November was when the first flake of snow fell from the now gray sky. It reminded me of something, as I sat in History of Magic and stared out the window. A feeling of nostalgia settled over me as Professor Binn's voice droned on and I stared out the window as snow fell from the sky. I had already gotten the frame for Tom's present, I just don't know if I should give him it on his birthday or Christmas. Maybe I'll buy him something from Hogsmeade, I'm nearly one hundred percent sure he's never received a present in his life. The thought made me sad, I know my parents bought me presents. I don't feel anything when thinking of the blurry memory when my father gave me a toy broomstick.

I shook myself out of my melancholic thoughts that seemed to plague me as of late. I was constantly slipping in and out of it and I'm utterly terrified that Tom will notice I have a weakness. Tom is different from anyone that I have ever met, he's loyal to me beyond anything I've ever experienced. He strives to make this world a better place for _me_. He doesn't care that much about others, but if I care about others he does too. My thoughts are always whirling around in my head, never ending. Tom snapped me out of my thoughts as he put his hand against my forehead. "Are you poorly?" He asks me with furrowed eyebrows.

"I am well, Binn's just bores me to death," I tell him with a small smile on my face. His caring nature always put a smile on my face. "Very well then," he mutters with a smile on his face as he opens up his Latin book. He's been doing amazing at picking up on Latin, which has made me begin considering that it's possible he has eidetic memory. It would explain his ability to pick up on things instantly and site things from a text book, but translate them into his own words flawlessly. "Quid agis?" I ask him causing him to roll his eyes.

"Valeo," he replies with a hint of amusement in his voice as he continues reading. I let out a soft groan of boredom causing him to close his book and look at me. "Yes, Hadrian?" He asks me with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm bored," I whine slightly as I lean back in my chair, staring at the ceiling. "Then draw or read," he says and goes back to his book. I pout slightly, feeling very childish but loving every second of it. "Do you have anything I can read?" I ask him causing him to sigh in annoyance. "Here," he says handing me Romeo & Juliet by William Shakespeare. "Didn't know you were into romance novels," I say with a slight giggle as I open it up to the first page. "Prat," he mutters underneath his breath causing me to chuckle.

Apparently, old English was not as easy as people made it out to be. I had only gotten through twenty pages by the time class ended. Overrall, the book was beautiful nonetheless.

* * *

"My bounty is as boundless as the sea, my love as deep; the more I give to thee, the more I have, for both are infinite." Tom looked up from his book to stare at me. I winked at him and rolled back over on to the bed to lay on my stomach and continue reading Romeo & Juliet, for the third time. Tomorrow was Thanksgiving, a day which I did not know why we had to celebrate for it was an American holiday. There would be a feast, but nothing really special besides that. A few Americans go here, if I'm being honest they can be a bit rude to us and seem to only like us for our accents and supposed wealth.

"Why are you quoting William Shakespeare?" Tom asks me causing me to shake away my thoughts of the stupid holidays I had to celebrate.

"Why not? He is simply amazing at writing," I say as my eyes stare at the book, but they don't move. He hums in response. I turn over to lay on my back and I rest the book on my stomach (still open). My eyes were trained on the stone ceiling, there were bumps here and there in it. It was unique; just like everything else is. Nothing can be the same- darkness.

"Hagrid?" I ask as he smiles at me with a snowy white owl in a cage which he was holding. "I got ya a present 'Arry! It didn't look like your relatives had been giving you much," he says the last part with a somber tone. "She's one of a kind, she's the first snowy owl they've gotten their hands on in five years," he says proudly as he hands me her. Her golden eyes stared into mine as she hooted quietly.

"Hadrian?" Tom whispers causing me to sit upward abruptly. "Are you feverish? You were muttering nonsense," he asks me as he rubs circles onto my lower back to calm me. I shake my head sleepily as I blink away the images of the snowy white owl and half-giant man named Hagrid. "Come on, I'll sleep with you tonight," he says and helps me up. He picks out my pajamas then begins helping me get into them. As we laid down in his bed my mind was still spinning, _it felt so real._ I didn't have any relatives besides my parents, though. I pushed away my questions, instead I snuggled into Tom's comforting arms.

That night the same scene replayed over and over all night long, plaguing my dreams. I woke up every time it ended, but went back to sleep after ten minutes every time.

* * *

On December 7th I finally went to the infirmary after a major headache during potions, causing me to mess up my potion I was working on. "Hello?" the Matron called out as I entered the infirmary. She must have a ward that tells her when someone enters. "I'm Madam Ivywood, what's wrong?" She appears in the door way of her office as she sees me.

"Um, well. I don't know how to explain it well," I mutter as a wave of shyness rolls over me. She smiles comfortingly and hands me a sheet of paper then sets me up at a table. "Just write down your symptoms and anything else that has been happening." She leaves me alone to fill out the form, which I do. I finish in fifteen minutes as I wait patiently for her to return. I felt slightly awkward as I sat there, maybe it was because I wasn't use to telling someone about things troubling me?

"Let me look it over," she says and takes it from my hands. A realization hit me, I didn't tell Tom where I was going. He can be very paranoid and worried about me, even if I'm gone for thirty minutes he's already wondering if I'm dead. That concerns me, because what if I do die one day. How will he react to such thing? Vow to get revenge? Make the world a better place like I had wanted? It would most likely break him, the only other person he had managed to form a connection with was Abraxas as now everyone revered him, because of his Slytherin blood. "I've never seen anything like this, all I can do is give you a low level pain relief potion. If you begin experiencing nose bleeds, dizziness or nausea, or blood from your ears, come to me immediately," she tells me sternly. "You can come and lay down for a bit," she instructed as she handed me the potion.

"Can you tell Tom Riddle where I am?" I ask her as I feel the sleepiness side affect begin to kick in.

"Of course, I'm sure he'll end up right next to you when you wake up." That was all I needed before I allowed myself to fall asleep.

**TOM'S** **POV**

* * *

 

"Hey, Tom, the Matron wants to see you," Abraxas tells me as he enters the common room. I stood up and began a fast pace to the informary, if Hadrian was in there I'll kill someone— he was laying on one of the beds asleep when I walked in. "What happened? Did someone hurt him?" I ask the Matron as my eyes flashed slightly.

"He hasn't been feeling the best of late. I would appreciate it though if you bring him to me if he has dizziness spells, headaches, blood coming from anywhere on his head, vomiting, or zoning out for long periods of time and muttering nonsense," she asked me. I nodded as I walked towards Hadrian's bed he was laying on. He was sick, could he die from whatever this was? I shook away that thought as I stared at his peaceful features. His cherry lips were slight parted as he breathed in and out. His curly black hair complimented his pale skin amazingly, I was still confused as to how a boy could be so pretty.

Why didn't he tell me something was wrong? Now that I look at him, there are bags under his eyes and he looks a bit thinner before. I'll make him know that he has to tell me these things. If he ever dies, I don't know what will happen. I do know, I'll kill anyone that harms him.


	13. Yule Time Gifts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys go shopping for Yule gifts, but Hadrian makes a quick stop at Tom's family's place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> last chapter for the day woohoo

**TOM'S** **POV**

* * *

 

I shivered as my feet came into contact with the cold floor of the Slytherin dormitories. What was Salazar Slytherin thinking when he thought it'd be a good idea to put children's bedrooms in the dungeons? I quickly slipped on a new pair of socks, as mine had managed to disappear into my blankets during the night. I looked at Hadrian who was still sleeping, thankfully he's been sleeping a lot better ever since he was prescribed a sleeping draught. He was also gaining a bit of weight back, he had lost around nine kilograms in the short period of time he had been a bit of a mess. Today was the Hogsmeade trip to get our Yule/Christmas presents for each other.

I closed my eyes as I stood, taking a deep breath. I put on my bathrobe as I entered the bathing room to get ready for the day. I let the robe fall onto the ground before stepping into the steaming hot water. I hummed a soft tune to one of my favourite nursery rhymes, London Bridge Is Falling down. It was such a beautiful yet sad song, which I loved about it.

 _London Bridge is falling down,_  
_Falling down, falling down._  
_London Bridge is falling down,_  
_My fair lady._

 _London Bridge is broken down,_  
_Broken down, broken down._  
_London Bridge is broken down,_  
_My fair lady._

 _Build it up with wood and clay,_  
_Wood and clay, wood and clay,_  
_Build it up with wood and clay,_  
_My fair lady._

 _Wood and clay will wash away,_  
_Wash away, wash away,_  
_Wood and clay will wash away,_  
_My fair lady._

 _Build it up with bricks and mortar,_  
_Bricks and mortar, bricks and mortar,_  
_Build it up with bricks and mortar,_  
_My fair lady._

 _Bricks and mortar will not stay,_  
_Will not stay, will not stay,_  
_Bricks and mortar will not stay,_  
_My fair lady._

 _Build it up with iron and steel,_  
_Iron and steel, iron and steel,_  
_Build it up with iron and steel,_  
_My fair lady._

 _Iron and steel will bend and bow,_  
_Bend and bow, bend and bow,_  
_Iron and steel will bend and bow,_  
_My fair lady._

 _Build it up with silver and gold,_  
_Silver and gold, silver and gold,_  
_Build it up with silver and gold,_  
_My fair lady._

 _Silver and gold will be stolen away,_  
_Stolen away, stolen away,_  
_Silver and gold will be stolen away,_  
_My fair lady._

 _Set a man to watch all night,_  
_Watch all night, watch all night,_  
_Set a man to watch all night,_  
_My fair lady._

 _Suppose the man should fall asleep,_  
_Fall asleep, fall asleep,_  
_Suppose the man should fall asleep?_  
_My fair lady._

 _Give him a pipe to smoke all night,_  
_Smoke all night, smoke all night,_  
_Give him a pipe to smoke all night,_  
_My fair lady._

I stepped out of the shower and wrapped myself in my bathrobe again. I stared in the mirror for a quick second as I brushed my teeth. I entered back into the dorm to see Hadrian getting dressed as he had showered last night. That was what we did _—_ he showered in the evening and I the morning. "G'morning, Tom," he said as he stumbled slightly getting into his pants. I chuckled slightly at his clumsy antics, how could he be so clumsy yet elegant?

"Good morning, Hadrian. We will be leaving at noon for Hogsmeade," I say as I slip my pants (underwear for Americans) on first before dropping my robe to the ground. I grab my casual clothes for the day, which is a white button up shirt, an under shirt, black skinny jeans, and my black winter cloak with a snake silver fastening. I was of course, going to be wearing my favourite boots. I combed hair, not really bothering to make it utterly perfect. I looked at Hadrian struggling to make his hair look decent, causing me to roll my eyes slightly. I take the brush from his hand and then begin brushing it properly. In minutes it looks like your average teenage boy's hair.

"You're doing my hair from now on," he mutters with a pink tint on his cheeks. I smile slightly as I grab my bag of personal items to take with me. We head down into the common room where the other boys were waiting on the couch.

"Took you two long enough, I was gonna barge in there to wake your arses up!" Abraxas says as he stands up hurriedly. "Come on, I'm utterly famished," he says as he exits the common room with us following along. The great hall was packed as people that were going home for Christmas would be leaving tomorrow, Sunday morning at eleven. Christmas eve was on Friday and there will be a Yule ball for fourth years or older to attend. They will all receive a portkey to stay and go home, they can finish their holidays here though. "My parents would be delighted if you and Hadrian would stay with us for the Holiday's," Abraxas says looking at me hopefully.

"Hadrian can make this decision — but what if I'm a half-blood? I know one of my parents is magical and the direct descendant of Salazar Slytherin, but-" he cut me off abruptly as I noticed Hadrian begin to fidget slightly.

"You're a Slytherin by blood, they don't give a damn," he says and turns to Hadrian for his answer. I locked eyes with Hadrian for a moment before he nodded. "Hogwarts is in constant danger because of Grindelwald, it'd be good to get away from here once in a while," Hadrian says as he goes to stand up. I look at his plate to see it's barely touched so I yank him down.

"Eat," I order and go back to eating my breakfast. I smile slightly as he begins eating it. All I have to do is be a bit stern and he'll do what I ask of him. "So we will all be splitting up to get presents for each other in Hogsmeade?" I ask for confirmation, I am given nods in response. I realized then that I had friends to buy presents for, causing a warmth in my chest as I ate my food.

* * *

I wrapped my cloak tighter around me as I began looking around the snow covered Hogsmeade. There were a variety of shops, but a miscellaneous store stood out amongst the rest of them. The shop was warm when I entered it, there was a man behind the counter reading a book. "Hello, anything I can do for you?" He asks me as soon as he sees me. "Actually, yes. I am in need of gifts for my friends," I say as I remove my gloves from my hands to tuck them into my cloak. "What house are your friends from?" He asks me as he heads over to an aisle of random things. "Slytherin," I say which causes him to smile.

"I have the perfect section," he says and directs me towards the back where the jewlery, antique books, Latin books, silver trinkets, and small clothing items. My eyes land on a watch with a black leather wrist band, silver metal, inside the actual watch was blank. "You can add a picture in it," he says with a smile on his face. I instantly grab it and continue looking around the shop. There was all sorts of things in the shop, I ended up buying Hadrian a professional potion's kit so he could practice more. I bought black leather gloves for Aiden as he had been a bit fascinated with muggle leather as of late. Samuel had a fascination with cooking so I got him a muggle and wizarding cooking book. Abraxas was where I was stuck, he had literally everything he could want. I smiled though as I saw a silver hair clip as a snake with green gems for eyes. I browsed a bit more before coming across a necklace with the ruby birth stone, I decided to get it for Theo as his birthday was in July after all.

I walked up to the counter with the items in my hand to set them down. "I shall wrap them in their own wrapping paper as a gift," he says with a wink. "Chartam," he says and I mentally take note of the useful spell as the items are wrapped in their own unique colour of metallic wrapping paper. I hand him the money, then I grab the presents to put them into my bag. "Happy holiday's," I say with a bow as I go to leave.

I put my gloves on my cold hands again as I head to another store for more gifts.

**HARRY'S** **POV**

* * *

 

I watched Tom disappear into the crowd of witches and wizards with a smile. I was going to take the ring to a black smith so he could redo the band of it. The shop was on the right, next to the Three Broomstick's. The shop was insanely warm when I stepped inside of it. "What do you need?" A young man asked me as soon as I stepped into the shop.

"I want a new band for this ring, preferably the finest silver you have. I would like it to be a snake with cobalt blue gems," I say as I think of Tom's eyes, which are the exact replica of his mother's. He inspects the ring before nodding. "It'll be done in ninety minutes, I suggest you finish your shopping beforehand," he says as he walks into the back of the shop to begin his work. I exit the shop swiftly and head towards a jewlery store, all pure-blood's valued jewlery, books, wine, and clothing as gifts. I bought Lady Malfoy a silver necklace with diamonds going down to form a triangular shape. Abraxas would be getting a amethyst gem ring with a band made of silver, Theo would be getting a choker made of platinum and black saphyres. For Samuel and Gregory I settled on fine Italian silk cloaks with a raven and serpent clasp.

I managed to bribe a man at the wine store for one of the finest wines they had for an extra fifty galleons. I tucked the bottle of wine into my satchel before heading into a dark alley, I had approximately an hour to go to Little Hangleton and visit Morfin, maybe even Tom's father. I smiled as I grabbed the portkey from my cloak and muttered the activation password. This time I landed on my feet, only stumbling a little bit. I walked swiftly towards the Gaunt Shack where Morfin was currently staying. I smiled slightly when I noticed that he had taken down the snake and overall the house looked a bit neater. I knocked on the door as I waited for him to open it. "Kid? How have you been?" He asks when he opens the door.

"I am doing well, Morfin. May I please discuss some business with you?" I ask him as I bow slightly. He signals me to follow him inside, the house is much neater inside than the last time I had visited him. "You are the Lord of the Slytherin line," I began and he nods. "I would like to redo the Gaunt shack and turn it into a manor, I want her son to meet you over Winter break. I will supply you with clothes, food, a house-elf that you will treat respectfully, and money. The Gaunt and Slytherin line should return with utmost power," I say as his eyes widen. "What's the catch?" He asks me after a moment of silence.

"I lied to you about her son," I say causing his eyes to narrow. "She was pregnant with the Riddle's son, but he left before she knew she was even pregnant. He's a half-blood, but trust me when I tell you he's one of the most powerful wizards I've ever seen," I add the last part quickly. "Your family line has been inbreeding for years, all it needed was some fresh blood to be powerful again," I say after a moment of silence.

"I would like to meet him, when's his birthday?" He asks me after a moment. "December 31st, your sister died giving birth to him," I say causing him to slump slightly. "If it helps, I'm sure he's going to marry a pure-blood," I add in an attempt to assure him. It was true, I'm nearly one hundred percent he will end up marrying into a pure-blood line. "He should marry you-" I cut him off with a choking sound. "I want to ask, can I see him the day after his birthday? Will the manor even be done?" He asks me as soon as I regain my composure.

"Of course, the manor will not take long with my bribing issue I have going on. It'll be done by December 31st, a man will arrive shortly to make you a wardrobe," I say as I stand up to leave, I have only thirty minutes left before I need to pick up the ring. "Do you know where Riddle Manor is?" I ask him as I head towards the door.

"You can't miss it, it's the one on the hill. Thank you-," I'm already on my way before he can finish. I'm doing this for Tom, not him. He was right though, I saw it as soon as I stepped foot in the village. It was the biggest home on top of a small hill about a mile away. I quickly realized — the town was a very odd one. The people stared at me as if they had never seen a visitor before, which may be true. I would give a curt nod or bow to certain people that didn't gawk or whisper about me. The cobblestone stairs leading up to the main entrance of the manor made me want to throw myself back down them. 

I arrived at the door after what felt like an hour, but in reality five minutes. I rang the doorbell as soon as I spotted it and waited. It took two minutes before an old man opened the door, he looked nearly exactly like Tom, but he was too old to be his father. "Hello, I would like to speak to a man by the name of Tom Riddle," I say with a bow. I'm grateful I wore clothes that showed off my wealth, because he allowed me inside nearly immediately. "Let me get my son and wife," he tells me before leaving them to get them. My eyes scan the parlor as I smile slightly. I hope the grandparents are a good influence on Tom's father. They enter the room and Tom Jr. scans me with his eyes. "Take a seat, may I ask your name?" Tom Senior asks me as I take a seat.

"My name is Hadrian Moreau," I say with a soft smile. "What I'm here for is something involving a previous relationship your son was in around eleven years ago," I say causing Tom Jr. to stiffen slightly. "Merope?" He asks me, which causes me to nod in confirmation. "What about her? How is she?" He asks me a question before I can answer his previous one.

"She passed away on December 31st, the year you left her," I say causing his eyes to widen as his parents went silent. "She died while giving birth—" Tom Jr stood up as his mother stared at him in an accusing manner. "How do you know he's my son? I was not told I have one," he asks me, his eyes alight. "He looks exactly like you, I bet I won't be able to tell a difference between you two if I saw a childhood picture of you, well he does have his mother's eye colour. There are quite the amount of Tom Riddle's in Europe, the Orphanage couldn't find you," I say with a raised eyebrow. The man almost seemed desperate for it not to be true.

"What's his name?" He asks after a moment of silence. "Tom Marvolo Riddle," I respond with as he closes his eyes. He places his hands against his head as he lets out a sigh of exhaustion. "I'm afraid I must go, you can contact me through my bank manager," I say standing up. I hand his parents a small piece of paper with Nurluk's phone number on it. "It was a pleasure to speak to you, I know Tom would like to meet you," I say as I exit the house. I get no answer in response so I take that as my signal to leave. Once far enough, I apparate back into the small alley way. I was four minutes late to pick up the ring I realized in a panic.

The man was standing there when I entered the store. The ring was in a small black ring box in his hands. "Tell me if you like it," he says as he hands me the small box. I open it and nearly gasp, he removed the stone from the old band completely. The only way I could tell it was the ring was because of the stone with the deathly hallow's symbol. "I love it," I say pocketing it in my cloak. "Thirty galleons," he says as I grab out my money pouch.  I hand him the money as I begin leaving, but he stops me. "Do you know the power of that ring? People would kill for it if it doesn't kill the owner, I suggest you be careful with who you give it to," he says grabbing my arm. He gives me a stern stare before letting me go, I began thinking. If I touched it will it be exactly like the story? I looked at the ring that had still yet to touch my skin. This ring had made many of Cadmus Peverell's ancestors commit suicide. I closed it again as I decided against trying to use the ring.

I quickly began my way towards the Three Broomstick's where I was due to meet the rest of our group.


	14. He's Gone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning for mention of suicide.

**HARRY'S** **POV**

* * *

We stepped off of the Hogwarts' express with Abraxas to go and greet his parents. They were both good looking pure-blood's, Septimus Malfoy had long blond hair that flowed freely down his back and shoulder's, Victoria Malfoy had pitch black hair that was quote short in contrast to her husband. "It is a pleasure to meet you Mister Riddle and Moreau," Septimus said with a bow as he shook our hands. "A pleasure to meet you as well, Lord Malfoy," Tom says with a smile on his face. "Thank you for allowing us to stay for the Holiday's," he adds immediately afterwards.

  
"It's no problem, kid. Abraxas and Hadrian, please grab onto Victoria's arm and Tom mine," he says as he holds out his arm. I do as told and feel the familiar tug of apparation. We landed in the front corridor of Malfoy Manor where a series of portraits of their ancestors hung. "Abraxas, show them to their rooms. Dinner will be done within a hour," Septimus told Abraxas, before going in the opposite direction of the entrance. "I'm afraid my father is going to his study, why don't I show you to your rooms," Abraxas says with a small smile. Something in his eyes seemed off, ever since he laid eyes upon his father.

He led us up the large staircase that led to the second floor of the manor. "You're rooms will be directly across from each other," Abraxas says as he opens two doors, across from each other. Left is Hadrian's and right us Tom's," he says with a smile as we step into our rooms. I set my trunk at the foot of my bed as I look around the room. It was definitely extravagant if the amount of priceless items around the room was anything to go by. "I shall leave you two alone to unpack and settle in, I will be back when it is dinner," Abraxas says and heads down the stairs again. I smile at Tom before closing my bedroom door. It felt weird not sharing a room with Tom, but I began unpacking my things nonetheless.

Once I finished I got into an outfit for dinner, one that would be appropriate for a pure-blood family dinner. I let out a sigh of relief as I fell back into the comfortable bed provided for me. I groaned when an owl tapped on my window, standing up to open it. It swooped onto the desk to hold out it's leg for me. It was a letter from Nurluk, I realized as I saw the Gringotts symbol on it. I grabbed the letter from the owl and gave it a small treat before it flew away. I opened the letter as I sat on the edge of the bed.

_Dear Mister Moreau,_

_The Riddle family called me by means of a_ _muggle_ _telephone. They told me to give you an important message, below is their message. Read with caution Hadrian, it is a very sensitive topic._

_Our son, the_ _father_ _of Hadrian's friend, has sadly passed away. He hung himself in his bedroom, I'm sorry but we were too late to save him. We would like to meet our grandson though, and give him the note our son left behind. I do not know how our grandson will react, but please look out for him. His funeral will be held on January second, I do not expect you to show up. We would appreciate it though, Happy Holidays._

_\- Mr & Mrs Riddle_

_Tell young Mister Riddle I send him my_ _condolences_ _. If you want, I will send you a_ _portkey_ _to go to the funeral._

_Nurluk_  
_Moreau_ _Family Bank Manager_

My heart twisted painfully in my chest at the news. If I had taken Tom with me to meet his father, maybe it would have been different. I felt tears stream down my face, not for me, but for Tom. He could've met his father, but now he's gone. Was it because he learned he had a son, or was it the threat of Hitler currently on the rise? Everyday, people were becoming more and more terrified of the prospect of another world war. America was currently suffering a great depression, dozens of people ending their lives daily.

I wiped away my tears, sniffling slightly as I reached for a tissue. How do I tell Tom his father is dead? I stood up shakily, clutching the letter in my hand as I opened my door. Tom's door was shut, but I did not care at the moment. I opened his door, causing him to look up from the book he was reading on his bed. "Hadrian, what's wrong?" He asked me, closing his book as he noticed the tears on my face. I closed the door, clutching the letter even tighter. "Hadrian." I met his cobalt blue eyes, that oddly glowed in the light of the room.

"I'm so sorry," I begin causing him to freeze. "I did my research on your family like you asked," I say as I look down at my feet, not wanting to see his reaction to what I was about to say. "I went to visit your father during the Hogsmeade trip, I had wanted to make sure he was a decent man before you met him. I-I just got a message from his parents," I begin stuttering slightly as I look up to meet his eyes that were becoming glossy. "He killed himself," I whispered the last part, but he heard it perfectly.

I tried to comfort him as he sat on the edge of his bed. I sat next to him, feeling too awkward to touch him in case he snapped at me. He was in shock most likely, he had just learned hi dad was alive the whole time, but just killed himself before he could meet him in person.

"My grandparents are alive?" He asks me, tears hanging onto his eyelashes as they gently fall from his eyes and down his cheeks. I nodded, handing him the slightly crumpled letter I had clenched in my hand. It was so rare for him to allow himself to feel, but it hurt to see him in pain like this. He was now actually an orphan, all he had were elderly grandparents who would definitely be passing away soon. He had is Uncle, who will hopefully clean up his act.

"Do you want to go to the funeral?" I ask him after a few moments of his quiet cries. He nods, standing up and walking towards the mirror. He wipes the tears of his face as he sniffles slightly. I raise an eyebrow as he fixes his slightly wrinkled clothes, along with his posture. "Your eyes and nose are still red, Tom," I say gently, for I do not want to have an angry Tom on my hands. I'll never understand why he expresses nearly all emotions in anger. His shoulders visibly slumped as he headed into the bathroom, seconds later I could hear the faucet of the sink running. Abraxas entered the room, notifying me that dinner is in five minutes, he quickly exited again, not questioning Tom's absence.

When he exited he looked nearly exactly the same as before I told him the news, but this time his eyes were dead. "We should head back down now, they're waiting for us," he mumbled as he headed straight for the door.

We entered the dining room where everyone was sat at the large table. Septimus and Victoria smiled at us as we took a seat next to each other, Abraxas directly across from us. "Fenzie," Septimus called, causing a house elf to appear. The house elf named Fenzie said nothing as he snapped his fingers, causing food to appear on the table. I reminded myself to use proper etiquette as we're at an ancient and noble pure-blood's manor. "So Tom, Abraxas told me about an ability you have related to your ancestry," Septimus said slyly, causing me to cringe. I'm sure the last thing Tom wants is to talk about his ancestry. I just silently prayed that Tom wouldn't snap.

"I'm not surprised, any wizarding child would tell their parents. I've always been able to speak to snakes," he said with a smile on his face, the smile that tricked so many people. Victoria's eyes had a gleam of excitement to them as she began asking some questions. I sat in my chair silent, a feeling of guilt settled over my shoulders.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this isn't edited, sorry.


End file.
